Information
Date : 1916
Size : O-ban
Impression : Very good
Condition : Good
Detail : Slight soiling / Signature
Madura" is presumed to be the current Madurai.
Madurai was an ancient city that developed on the banks of the Vaigai River in India, and was home to many cultural heritage sites, and was the commercial center of South India. In this work, we can see a textile vendor doing business in the beautiful ruins.
Bartlett enrolled at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where he studied painting and etching. After three years in London, Bartlett entered the Académie Julian in Paris, France, where he studied under Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Rodolphe Clarence Boulanger. He was active mainly in watercolors and etchings.
In 1913, with financial support from his wife's wealthy family, he traveled to India, Ceylon, Indonesia, and China. On his way, he stopped in Japan for the first time in 1915. At that time, he brought his own watercolor sketches to Shozaburo Watanabe and started to make woodblock prints by changing his pencil to a paintbrush. The following year, in 1916, Shozaburo Watanabe released a total of 21 new prints, including six Bartlett landscapes of Japan and one of India.
The characteristic blue of the prints was different from the indigo of Hokusai and Hiroshige, or the almost dark blue of Shoutei's new prints, and gave the impression of a brighter and newer age.
In 1919, Bartlett visited Japan again and published 16 new prints from Watanabe Print Shop.