The Complete Woodblock Prints of Yoshida Hiroshi

I am surprised that this artist isn't more widely known or celebrated. His workblends Western style painting (particularly the impressionists and realist landscapes)with the Japanese style. I'm absolutely blown away by his prints. The compositions arebeautifully simple and complex at the same time and he injects mood better than anyartist I know. I keep picking up the book to try to learn something but always end upin another world, transfixed in admiration, jaw stuck to the floor.It's a shame this book isn't a lot cheaper, simply because more people would be ableto enjoy his work. Having said that, I paid a lot of money for it and don't regretit at all!

excellent

One of the best books I have found so far on early 20th century Japanese printmakers, it includes text (essays and captions) in English, Yoshida was active as a printmaker in the 1920s and 1930s. I actually found the book at amazon.co.jp while browsing for printmaking titles – there are so few books on modern era Japanese prints by Western publishers – and eventually found it there. Even with shipping costs I think it worked out a bit cheaper at just under £50.

Great as a reference book, less great as a showcase for the artwork. Too many. Small pictures.But there is enough to make you go and seek out more detailed pictures

This is a superb book, providing a complete survey of Hiroshi's woodblock prints and an interesting selection of paintings and watercolours. As with Kawase Hasui, there is a predominance of landscapes celebrating the beauty of Japan, but Hiroshi's work is more cosmopolitan in subject matter: the artist travelled extensively so there is a significant number of printsillustrating beauty spots as far afield as Yosemite (El Capitan), India (the Golden Temple at Amritsar), Greece (the Acropolis) and Venetian palazzi, to give only a handful of examples. The influence of western art is clear, though these still remain quite clearly the work of a Japanese master, retaining an element of the exotic even with the more familiar 'western' subject matter.The book is very nicely printed as a sturdy paperback, though with a card dj to give the covers more substance. The illustrations are superb, though I confess to a little disappointment that though the bulk of prints are presented one or two to a page, a significant minority have 3, 4 or even 5 to a page, inevitably making them a little harder to study properly. However, the page size is generous, so even when the page is full of several prints, one can still see them reasonably well. Towards the back of the book is a short section illustrating stages in the inking and printing of multiple-block images: this is VERY interesting for someone like me who practices, albeit inadequately, wood engraving. But here the smallness of the images really does reduce their effectiveness.The texts are presented in Japanese and English (5 brief essays including a memoir by a son of the artist) and there are just about adequate notes: this is, therefore, not as substantial in its textual analysis as one would expect from a western 'catalogue raisonne', but the texts are worth reading.A lovely book for those interested in Japanese art and/or printmaking, and one which makes this reader believe that Hiroshi should be far better known outside Japan: let's hope this book goes some way to extending his reputation in the west!

I saw some of Yoshida Hiroshi's woodblock prints in a recent visit to the Minneapolis Institute of Art and fell in love. I was very excited to receive this book, but I'm sorry to say it was a disappointment. For the price of this book (£78.50), I really expected it to be larger and have more full-page reproductions of Hiroshi's beautiful prints. Instead, there were very few full-page reproductions and very many pages that had two and three very small images of various prints. In many of the images, it's impossible to make out the stunning detail that makes his work so special. I still love Yoshida Hiroshi, but I guess I'll have to keep looking for a book that does his work justice.

A superb artist print maker, who I have only recently discovered. Such amazing colours and subtle feelings. Would give 5 stars but the book is so expensive, however a real treat and collectors item.