Sadao Watanabe - 天からのマナ (Manna From Heaven)

A fabulous print by Sadao Watanabe: 天からのマナ (Manna From Heaven). Figures gather manna, their patterned robes set against a golden ground, with circular forms representing the bread from heaven described in Exodus 16. Printed in 1968 on richly textured momi-gami paper, the kappazuri stencil technique produces luminous colour contrasts of red, blue, green, and black. ✝️🍞

• Year & Edition: 1968 · Edition 27/50 (signed & editioned in white ink).
  
• Medium: Stencil print (kappazuri) on momi-gami paper.
  
• Dimensions: Sheet H: 54.00 cm × W: 46.00 cm.
  
• Condition: Some age-related softening of background tone, otherwise colours remain strong and image clear; paper intact.
  
• Notes: The biblical story of manna symbolises God’s providence for the Israelites in the wilderness. Watanabe’s interpretation is one of his most recognisable Old Testament works, combining vibrant pigments with the folk-art tactility of handmade momi-gami.

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]