Tanaka Ryohei (1933–2019) was a Japanese printmaker who masterfully employed the Western intaglio technique of etching (Japanese: doban). His predominantly monochromatic prints depict Japan’s traditional thatched-roof farmhouses, temples, and landscapes with poetic beauty and a gentle melancholy. The textures of thatch, wood, stone, and other natural materials are rendered with remarkable precision and perfection.
Tanaka’s career spanned over fifty years, during which he created more than 770 unique etchings. The total number of prints exceeds 100,000, all of which he personally published. This remarkable output makes him one of the most prolific artists of his generation.
In the context of Japanese printmaking, where colorful woodblock prints traditionally dominate, Tanaka’s etchings hold a unique position. Like the artists of the “creative” sōsaku-hanga movement, who emphasized the individual artistic vision of the artist, Tanaka took on every step of the printmaking process, from designing and preparing the copper plate to printing the final work. Thematically, however, his works are closer to the nostalgic and romantic woodblock prints of the shin-hanga artists, yet they demand close observation and a meditative engagement with the image.
Line to Landscape is the first exhibition in Germany dedicated to Tanaka Ryōhei’s oeuvre, featuring 170 works. Fourteen precious etchings have been donated to the
Museum of East Asian Art by Tanaka Takiko, the wife of the printmaker, who passed away five years ago.
Mit freundlicher Unterstützung
Orientstiftung zur Förderung der Ostasiatischen Kunst
Fördererkreis des Museums für Ostasiatische Kunst Köln
Abbildung: Tanaka Ryohei, Der Schnee fängt an Nr. 2, 1980
Opening times
Tuesday to Sunday
11am – 5pm
Every first Thursday in the month
11am – 10pm (except October 3, 2024)
The museum is closed due to the Cologne Marathon on 6 October 2024.
Closed Mondays; open on All Saints' Day
Museum is closed on December 24th, Christmas Day (25 Dec), New Year's Eve (31 Dec) and New Year's Day (1 Jan). Museum is opend on Easter Monday, Whit Monday, German Unity Day and December 26.
Admission prices
€ 9,50 / € 5,50
KölnTag on the first Thursday of the month (except public holidays): free admission to the Museum for all Cologne residents.
How to get here
Public transport: Tram routes 1 and 7 and bus route 142, alight at ‘Universitätsstrasse’
There is a car park at the museum
more
Barrier-free
The museum is barrier-free. Disabled toilet available.
more
Museum für
Ostasiatische Kunst Köln
Universitätsstrasse 100
D 50674 Köln
Ticket office +49.221.221-28617
mok@museenkoeln.de
Legal notice
Opening times
Tuesday to Sunday
11am – 5pm
Every first Thursday in the month
11am – 10pm
Closed Mondays; open on All Saints' Day
Museum is closed on December 24th, Christmas Day (25 Dec), New Year's Eve (31 Dec) and New Year's Day (1 Jan). Museum is opend on Easter Monday, Whit Monday, German Unity Day and December 26.
more
Admission prices
€ 7,50 /reduced € 4,50
from 20 June
€ 9,50 /reduced € 5,50
KölnTag on the first Thursday of the month (except public holidays): free admission to the Museum for all Cologne residents.
more
How to get here
Public transport: Tram routes 1 and 7 and bus route 142, alight at ‘Universitätsstrasse’
There is a car park at the museum
more
Barrier-free
The museum is barrier-free. Disabled toilet available.
more
Museum für
Ostasiatische Kunst Köln
Universitätsstrasse 100
D 50674 Köln
Ticket office +49.221.221-28617
mok@museenkoeln.de
Legal notice