Title: 国芳の猫 Kuniyoshi's Cats. Ed. 6/100.

Series: 江戸墨百色 A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo.

Binnie’s significant 江戸墨百色 A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo series took his studies of the human body and passion for traditional ukiyo-e imagery, fusing them into a ten print series featuring nude models with elaborately tattooed imagery - each referencing famous themes of work from Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print masters Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806), Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), Suzuki Harunobu (c.1724-1770), Keisai Eisen (1790-1848), Toshusai Sharaku (active c.1794-1795), Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815), & Utagawa Hiroshige (1791-1858). Each print of the series has a non-tattooed counterpart print design.

Artist: Paul Binnie (1967-Present).

Signed, Sealed & Dated:

Series title cartouche to upper right margin. Signed in pencil along with artist kanji signed in gold to lower left of image. Beneath, each print within Binnie’s A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo series was adorned with a unique seal - in this case Binnie further echoed his homage to Kuniyoshi’s famous c.1849 triptych 猫飼好五十三疋 Cat's Suggested as the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road, with a playfully constructed image of a cat cast from his typical “Binnie” seal. Print title to upper right of image (in the style of Kuniyoshi’s signature) “Kuniyoshi no + depicted image of a grooming cat”. Published 2004.

Medium: Woodblock Print.

Paper Size: H: 43.00 cm x W: 29.00cm.

Condition: Shipped Framed (High quality grained grey/brown frame by specialists “The Framing Workshop”, Bath, UK, measuring: H: 71.00cm x W: 57.50cm). Print in extremely fine condition and fabulous example of Binnie’s sumi shaded baren sujizuri - circular baren/swirling printing technique evident to background. 国芳の猫 Kuniyoshi's Cats sees embossing/blind-printing - adding texture to the cat’s fur. Please refer to photos / Contact for any further questions & condition report.

Notes: 国芳の猫 Kuniyoshi's Cats is Binnie’s initial introduction of prints to the ten design run series, whereby Binnie released 国芳の猫 Kuniyoshi's Cats along with 芳年の化け物 Yoshitoshi’s Ghosts as a pair in late 2004. This design expands on Binnie’s initial non-tattooed print “White Cats” - carving further blocks to integrate compositions from Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s (1798-1861), famous c.1849 triptych 猫飼好五十三疋 Cat's Suggested as the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road. A lighthearted, playful illustration of cats (one of Kuniyoshi’s loves & ukiyo-e themes) - each cat a reference and play on the stations along the route, made most famously known from Utagawa Hiroshige’s (1791-1858) c.1833-34 series.

Binnie’s 国芳の猫 Kuniyoshi's Cats integrates over eighteen cats referenced from Kuniyoshi’s triptych.