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Brangwyn frequently collaborated with other printmakers, for example H G Webb and C W Moore who made wood engravings from Brangwyn's drawings. The book Belgium by Hugh Stokes, London, 1916, contains woodcuts by Brangwyn, Webb and Moore. Belgium was an important work because it illustrated many architectural features which were destroyed during the war.
Brangwyn's greatest collaboration however was with Yoshijiro Urushibara, also known as Mokuchu. Urushibara was born in Tokyo in 1888 and learnt the arts of carving and printing woodblocks as a youth. Between 1908 and 1934 he divided his time between Paris and London, worked with a number of British artists, making woodblocks from their drawings and watercolours. Brangwyn and Urushibara became firm friends and collaborated on 3 books: Bruges, London, 1919, illustrating six poems by Laurence Binyon; Ten Woodcuts by Yoshijiro Urushibara, London, 1924 and Leaves from the Sketch Books of Frank Brangwyn, Leigh-on-Sea, 1940. In his foreword to the latter book, Laurence Binyon pointed out that the Japanese artist's interpretations of Brangwyn's work were rather in the manner of Hokusai's manga. Urushibara also produced a number of other woodcuts from Brangwyn's watercolours.
The following is a selection of woodcuts made from Brangwyn's drawings and watercolours ((the number in brackets following the title indicates the number by which the work is identified in the Catalogue Raisonne).
Abbey of Ter Doest, Lisseweghe (Q4325), 1916, woodcut by C W Moore after Brangwyn drawing, 13.2x17.5cm, multiple ownership. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p140. Lit: Shaw Sparrow, Frank Brangwyn and his Work, London, 1915, p231. Ill: Stokes, Belgium, London, 1916, p19 | Library and University, Louvain (Q1558), 1916, woodcut by H G Webb after Brangwyn drawing, 17.8x13.2cm, multiple ownership. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p144. Ill: Stokes, Belgium, London, 1916, p111 | Cloth Hall and Belfry, Ypres (Q4284), 1916, woodcut by C W Moore after Brangwyn drawing, 17.6x13.2cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Cloth Hall and Belfry, Ypres (D1253), National Gallery of Wales, Cardiff (see Brangwyn Portfolio No 12). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p140. Lit: Shaw Sparrow, Prints and Drawings by Frank Brangwyn, London, 1919, p231. Ill: Stokes, Belgium, London, 1916, p3. The Cloth Hall was destroyed during the war but was such an iconic building that it has since been rebuilt. |
Pont des Baudets (Q3842), 1916, woodcut by H G Webb after Brangwyn drawing, 17.5x13.2cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Pont des Baudets, Bruges (D3841) Birmingham Art Gallery. Ill: Stokes, Belgium, London, 1916, p11 | Beguinage, Bruges (Q2859), 1917, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 44.8x56.5cm, signed in full by Brangwyn b.r. and by urishibara b.l., multiple ownership. Related works: Beguinage, Bruges (D1205), Cardiff. Exh: Exhibition of Colour Woodcuts by Y Urushibara, Abbey Gallery, Lodon, 1928, cat 9; International Society, Grosvenor Gallery, London, 1920; The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat B-14 (plus Ill); Japan & Britain: An Aesthetic Dialogue 1950-1930, London, 1991, cat 380; Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 3 (plus Ill) . Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p254. Ill: Binyon, Bruges, London, 1919; 'Studio-Talk', The Studio, January 1920, p162; F Brangwyn Brugge and West-Vlaanderen, Bruges, 1968, cover;. The Beguinage is the delightful nunnery in Bruges. | Bruges at Dawn (Q3034), 1919, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 37.8x49.9cm, signed in full by Brangwyn b.r. and Urushibara b.l. plus monogram b.l., multiple ownership. Related works: Bruges at Dawn (D3033)Arents House, Bruges. Exh: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat B-7 (plus Ill); Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 12/IV (plus Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p254. Ill: Binyon, Bruges, 1919 |
Loving Couple at the Jan van Eyckplein, Bruges (Q3031), 1919, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 37.8x49.4cm, signed in full by Brangwyn b.r. and Urushibara b.l. plus monogram b.l., multiple ownership. Related works: Bruges at Night (D1573) Arents House, Bruges. Exh: The Old Matsukata Collection, Kobe, Japan, 1989, cat 106/B-11 (plus Ill); Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 12/VI (plus Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p154. Ill: Binyon, Bruges, 1919 | Shepherd's Watch (Q2261), 1924, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 13.7x17.2cm, signed in full by Urushibara b.l. and Brangwyn monogram b.r., multiple ownership. Exh: Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 13/VI (plus Ill). Ill: Ten Woodcuts by Yoshijiro Urushibara, London, 1924, plate 6. | Outskirts of a Flemish Town (Q2409), 1924, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 14x21cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Flemish Town Outskirts (D2113) Liss Fine Art. Exh: Exhibition of Colour Woodcuts by Y Urushibara, Abbey Gallery, Lodon, 1928, cat 27; Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 13/X (plus Ill). Ill: Ten Woodcuts by Yoshijiro Urushibara, London, 1924, plate 10. |
Golden Morning, Venice (Q2660), 1924, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 22x32.5cm, multiple ownership. Exh: Globetrotter, Arents House, Bruges, 2003; Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 6 (plus Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p127 | Leaves 1 (Matadors) (Q4095) , c1940, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 38.4x28cm, multiple ownership. Exh: Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 14 (plus Ill). Ill: Leaves from the Sketch Books of Frank Brangwyn, Leigh-on-Sea, 1940 | Leaves 2 (Three Landscapes) (Q4096), c1940, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour,35.7x27.5cm. Exh: Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 14 (plus Ill). Ill: Leaves from the Sketch Books of Frank Brangwyn, Leigh-on-Sea, 1940 |
Leaves 11 (Man with Top Hat) (Q4102), c1940, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 36x28cm, multiple ownership. Exh: Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 14 (plus Ill). Ill: Leaves from the Sketch Books of Frank Brangwyn, Leigh-on-Sea, 1940 | Avignon, South France (Q2882), 1913-1939, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 53x35.8cm, signed in full by Urushibara b.l., multiple ownership. Related works: Walls of Avignon (V2899), nultiple ownership . Exh: Exhibition of Colour Woodcuts by Y Urushibara, Abbey Gallery, Lodon, 1928, cat 20; Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 11 (plus Ill). Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p137. Ill: Salaman, 'A Chat to the Print Lover', The Studio, September 1931, p157 | Ruins of Roman Bridge over Loire, Brives-Charensac (Q4805), 1913-1939, coloured woodcut by Urushibara after Brangwyn watercolour, 25x36cm, multiple ownership. Related works: Ruins of Roman Bridge over Loire, Brives-Charensac (D2458) pwu. Exh: Japonisme Prints - Riviere, Brangwyn and Urushibara, New Otani Art Museum, 2003, cat 9 (plus Ill) |