Some more snow !

Kamisaka Sekka 1866-1942

Some more Snow !

Continuing from last posting showing Jan Boon's Brueghel's winter print lets go out and meet some other artists who were inspired making similar prints. And then say goodbye to winter! Today februari 22th at 07h the blackbird for the first time this year announced the coming of spring 2012 with his song. 

The above print, "Oud Münster" is by Jan Boon around 1922 a few years after  Robert Gibbings' (1889-1956) 1918 "Dublin under Snow". Gibbings is well known for his fascination reducing sun and shade, black and white to an almost abstract level of composition. Jan Boon also did several more, experimenting with composition and the ultimate harmonic and easthetic distribution of black and white. 

Obviously the first to explore the possibillities of this theme were the Japanese printmakers but there are so many to choose from. That's why this great and relatively unknown (detail of) "Hotsprings of Hatashita" by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) will have to represent this group because: 

it's the European Modern Printmakers I want to show here like British  Bernard Rice (1900-1998) in Bosnia and Giovanni Giacometti (1868-1933) in Italy:

and in Norway John Savio (1902-1938), from Sami descent, humorously and brilliantly adding the wandering cat on a cold white roof to his snowy rooftops print. 

By an unidentified German printmaker (r.). Is there some-one who recognizes  the monogram ?

Fritz Bleyl (Germ. 1880-1966) shows he was able to create very tastefully and effectively a wintery atmosphere with minimalistic means.

Although winter and cold can be rendered even more minimalistic as shown by his friend and Brücke (1905-1913) colleague Karl Schmidt-Rotluff (1884-1976) (Because Schmidt is such a common name even among German printmakers, a second name, often place of birth, was added to distinguish  but in the end creating a lot of confusion because often these were in turn abbreviated. A posting is planned clearing this matter up) 

Rather deviant from all his other (and not widely known) woodblock prints here's a very nice example by contemporary printmaking American Walt Padgett (I have  a posting planned introducing and showing the work of this very extra-ordinairy American artist).

George Gustav Adomeit (1879-1967) born in Germany but who   immigrated at the age of 4 to America becoming a celebrated  painter and (Provincetown) print maker shows these city dwellings in snow.  

And last but not least a recent acquisition from my own collection: Wim Abeleven (Dutch, 1903-1967) this 1938 serene and snow covered village in the province of Zealand.

Ice !

Making and using ice, without leaving behind any ecological footprint, for centuries was not only a luxury to the rich but also a very clever and sustainable way of survival we should not forget and try to remember with great respect. 

Walter Klemm (1883-1957)

Besides cooling wine in summer, fishmongers and bakeries and probably many more enterprises and industries depended on harvesting and storing ice. Ice that lasted as long as a year in cleverly constructed isolated cellars. 

Karl Friedrich Zähringer (Sw.) (1886-1933) "Eisbrecher"

Giovanni Giacometti (It.) 1868-1933

It's hard to imagine when we open our refrigerator door the activities shown by these artists were once a common sight not a century ago. As these pictures show: in Italy, Holland, Germany and Switserland.

Harvesting ice in Amsterdam 1917

If readers have knowledge of more examples of icemaking and harvesting please send them for sharing.

  Bernard Rice (Br.) (1900-1998), thank you Charles.

(2003) Clara Lieu (US)

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Speaking of the wonderful and versatile Walter Klemm (read here) I found two more prints that should have been in the recent Fanny Psicha posting. But along this self educational path I follow and the information on the Internet expanding  every day, these things happen. For following readers I show them here and also add them to the original posting for new readers.