Lake Biwa

James Swann, artist

1905–1985

Prairie Print Makers, publisher

Lake Biwa, 1964

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: wove paper; drypoint

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 279 x 164 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 325 x 209 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 11 0.9843 x 6 7/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 12 13/16 x 8 1/4 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: Gift of Steven Schmidt, Class of '58, Prairie Print Makers' Gift Print Collection

Accession number: 1992.0070

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label: "Inspired by Japan," Mar-2003, Cori Sherman Lake Biwa is the central feature in the traditional Japanese set of 8 Views of o-mi Province. Originally a Chinese landscape theme, “8 Views of the Xiao and the Xiang Rivers,” Japanese artists adapted the setting to their own region of o-mi, northeast of Kyoto, containing the largest lake in Japan, Lake Biwa. Hiroshige’s Evening Snow on Mt. Hira, included in this exhibition, provides an apt example of the popularity of this famous site as inspiration. Swann made several trips to Japan, sketching and absorbing Japanese aesthetics as he explored the country. The red seal at the lower left emulates Asian artists’ signature stamps that often followed or replaced written names. Swann’s own seal is a combination of Japanese phonetics and meaning, with the characters placed vertically on the right side pronounced “ji-ei-mu-su-,” sounding out “James,” and the characters on the left for “hakucho-” meaning the Japanese word for the graceful waterfowl, the swan.