Sadao Watanabe - カナンの葡萄 (Grapes of Canaan)

A fabulous print by Sadao Watanabe: カナンの葡萄 (Grapes of Canaan). Two figures stand shoulder to shoulder, carrying a heavy cluster of grapes between them, with patterned robes and stylised foliage filling the scene. The subject derives from Numbers 13:23, when the Israelite spies return from Canaan bearing grapes, pomegranates, and figs to demonstrate the land’s abundance. Watanabe’s kappazuri stencil technique, printed on richly textured momi-gami, brings bold rhythm to the composition with accents of blue, white, and red against black. ✝️🍇

• Year & Edition: 1970 · Edition 67/70 (signed “Sadao Watanabe” in black ink).
  
• Medium: Stencil print (kappazuri) on momi-gami paper.
  
• Dimensions: Sheet H: 67.00 cm × W: 59.00 cm.
  
• Condition: Excellent colour and impression; paper clean and intact.
  
• Notes: A powerful Old Testament subject - the Grapes of Canaan represent God’s promise of a fertile land “flowing with milk and honey.” Watanabe’s version, with its geometric rhythm and vibrant palette, is one of his most recognisable depictions from the Book of Numbers.

About the Artist

Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996) was Japan’s foremost Christian printmaker, celebrated for bold 合羽摺 (kappa-zuri) stencil prints on textured momigami paper. A student of 芹沢銈介 Keisuke Serizawa and shaped by 柳宗悦 Yanagi Sōetsu’s mingei movement, he devoted his career to retelling Old and New Testament stories through striking elongated figures and rich pigments of colour, drawing on 型染め (katazome) dye-resist techniques. Particularly collectable, his works are widely held, with examples at MoMA, the British Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (MOMAT), and the Vatican. [ ← View All Works by Sadao Watanabe]