Japanese Woodblock Print,1930s, self published by Jacoulet

SIZE IN INCHES 4.25 x 6 inches

COMMENTS: The French artist Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) grew up in Japan, and from an early age the young Jacoulet displayed a precocious genius for drawing and painting. Tutored by master Japanese artists, Jacoulet became one of the few non-Japanese artists to master the art of ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock printing. Indeed Jacoulet took this traditional Japanese art form to unparalleled levels of technical proficiency, adding a richness of color palette, printing effects, and exquisitely detailed line that few if any Japanese wood-block artists have been able to achieve. During the late 1920s and 1930s, Jacoulet traveled extensively throughout the islands of Micronesia, as well as making numerous trips to China, Korea, and throughout his adopted country of Japan. The 166 wood-block subjects he produced during his lifetime concentrated on portraits of the indigenous peoples of Asia and the South Seas. In addition to his large size (oban) wood-block prints, he produced more than a dozen miniature (surimono) prints that he used as Christmas cards. Each miniature was printed with the same number of blocks as the original oban-size prints, and was tipped into a cut-and-folded sheet of paper with the Chinese symbol for good fortune printed in red or green on the outside, and the words "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" printed on the inside flap.

VG with flaws as shown