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Rainbow Colors: The Woodblock Prints of Paul Jacoulet, Dec. 6 – Mar. 30

 

Cultural News, November 2007

 

 

Danse d'Okesa, Sado, Japon. Paul Jacoulet, 1952, Ink on paper.

(Pacific Asia Museum Collection)

 

PASADENA – The love affair between the French Impressionists and Japanese ukiyo-e is an oft-told story, how paintings by giants such as Monet and Van Gogh were influenced by Japanese woodblock prints. Lesser known, however, is the fact that one of the masters of the ukiyo-e genre was a Frenchman by the name of Paul Jacoulet.

 

     Excellent examples from Pacific Asia Museum’s collection of his complete works will be on view from Dec. 6 through Mar. 30 in the exhibition Rainbow Colors: The Woodblock Prints of Paul Jacoulet.

 

   Paul Jacoulet was born in Paris in 1896, the son of a government official. He came to Tokyo at the age of four and spent his life there, after having produced some 166 prints. Like other ukiyo-e masters such as Harunobu and Utamaro, Jacoulet designed the woodblocks, while the carving and printing were done by artisans.

 

  Unimpeded by language or cultural barriers, Jacoulet was able to work closely with probably the last generation of Japanese carvers and printers trained in traditional techniques, and his works represent the fruit of this unique collaboration.

 

  The first thing one notices about a Jacoulet print is its extraordinary quality. No expense was spared in the use of costly materials such as lacquer, mica, gold and pearl powders. Labor-intensive techniques such as gauffrage, used to produce an embossed effect, were lavishly employed.

 

   What he pioneered, however, was the use of color.  Compared to the muted hues associated with classical ukiyo-e, his prints are veritable tonal explosions.

 

    For more information check www.pacificasiamuseum.org or call (626) 449-2742.  The exhibition is included with Pacific Asia Museum admission: $7 general, $5 students/seniors, and free for children ages 11 and younger.

 

 

In Les jades (Chinese Jade Lady), for example, the bright green of jade ornaments against lacquer black robes is offset by a swirling dragon background in vivid magenta, the red picked up again in the lady’s varnished nails, drawing attention to her outsize, masculine-looking hands.