Featured Wood Block Print (?) - Hand Painted - With Note

I was enchanted by this very small print of a seated horseman that has a handwritten note on the back. My goal is to learn about the characteristics of various types of prints. To my untrained eye, it appears to be hand painted or perhaps, the separate colors come from the printing process? I could be completely wrong about all of this. The print is 3 x 5 inches.
There is a charming note on about Mr. Nakamura on the back of this modern plastic frame. Does anyone have thoughts they would like to share. Any comments would be appreciated. I will use them to learn.

 

Given the grid-like pattern of dots in the one photo, it seems most likely that this is an offset lithograph. Does the same patterning occur throughout the print (and simply not showing up in the other photos)?

 

Any idea who Mr Nakamura is Kiko?

 

No got this at a resale shop. Unfortunate, the family lost this memento of its history. But the name gives me a lead as to the country it is supposed to represent.

 

Yes. Harder to photograph. Thank you

 

Could be that Mr. Nakamura shared the same ethnicity, but this being a direct ancestor is most likely apocryphal.

A tongue-in-cheek note by someone who came across the picture while writing an essay?

 

You got me. It's a post it note, so not from the tradition of identifying people and places and history on the back of photos, paintings, etc. that we see on antique items.

 

I knew I had seen this before. This is a modern print of a portion of a painting held at the Met. Consequently, doubt it is Mr. Nakamura's relative.

Unidentified artists | Six Horses | China | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

 

To me, the rider looks to be Mongolian.

 

The reproduction process that has the various patterns of dots is known as "halftone". Offset lithography does not use a screen, and shows a smooth appearance.

An excellent reference for identifying print techniques, with lots of discussion of history, and closeup images, is:
Bamber Gascoigne: How to Identify Prints. 2nd ed. Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 9780500284803

The horse definitely looks Mongolian:


The notes about Mr. Nakamura's (a Japanese name) ancestry may be a joke referring to recent studies that have shown that Genghis Khan left a definite mark on human DNA, with about 16 million living descendants.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...neticists,16 million descendants living today.

 

Wow!!!!!!!!!! I see what you mean. Thank you very much for tracking this down. Tracing someone from a 13th - 16th century scroll is not realistic.

 

That's what I thought at first when I saw it in the window. But Mr. Nakamura didn't fit.

 

Thank you so much for the reference in determining printing techniques. I get lost in the various resources on the web.
Genghis Khan was quite the progenitor it seems. You may be right that this was a joke for a family member and easily discarded to a thrift. I was looking at early Japanese peasants on horseback, and I did not see this type of fuller figured horse. I thought Mongolian at first, but was thrown by the Japanese reference. Thanks for clarifying.

 

Well... a little bit mea culpa.

From the Graphics Atlas:
"While text and line work can be transferred as is to the printing plate, if the piece to be printed includes a photograph or other full-toned image it must first be broken up into halftones."

http://www.graphicsatlas.org/identification/?process_id=46

But I have to agree - saying halftone would have been better. We don't know how the image was actually printed and halftone is not, of necessity, offset lithography.

 

No, no. Let me apologize. Reviewing both Bamber and your link, (rather than speaking off the cuff and somewhat groggy this morning), I see that screens may be used in offset lithography. But halftone would be a more inclusive term. Just emphasizes the fact that identifying printing techniques is complicated.

@KikoBlueEyes, the basic lesson you can take is that if you see those mechanical patterns it is a reproduction of some sort, and not an original work of art. (I think I am safe in saying that.)

 

not written in stone....but the 5 dollar frame is enuf to give one pause , about the art placed there....

just saying

 

Very nice link. Thank you. Obviously, printing is very nuanced, and it takes a knowledgeable person like you to discern these attributes.

 

Frankly, I was hoping for an original work of art, but this discussion is very illuminating. I didn't see the typical, modern dot matrix. Now I have other ways of detecting prints and I am very grateful for the education.

 

Komo. Even Cinderella had regular shoes.