“Miono-Matsubara” by Charles W Bartlett

“Miono-Matsubara” by Charles W Bartlett depicts Miho no Matsubara, which was renowned as a seashore with beautiful green pine trees and sand spanning over seven kilometers.

It has scenic views of Mount Fuji and the Izu Peninsula across Suruga Bay. It has an old pine tree dating back 650 years.

Bartlett was one of the very first Western artists to publish his works in the Japanese woodblock print form, which led to the rejuvenation of this genre and the Shin-Hanga movement in western art circles.

Charles William Bartlett was an English painter and printmaker who had studied in London and Paris and worked and exhibited across several European countries.

In his 50’s he traveled to India, Ceylon, Indonesia, China, and Japan. He arrived in Japan in 1915, where he met woodblock print publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō who was a major force in early 20th-century Japanese art called shin-hanga.

Watanabe published 21 woodblocks from Bartlett’s designs, including six prints of Japanese landscapes. In 1917, Bartlett and his wife left Japan and settled in Hawaii.

He revisited Japan in 1919, where he created sixteen shin-hanga prints for Watanabe.

Miono-Matsubara

• Title:         Miono-Matsubara (Miho no Matsubara, from an untitled series)
• Artist:       Charles W. Bartlett
• Year:         1916
• Medium:  Woodblock print
• Museum: Honolulu Museum of Art