Gallery 3J: Paul Jacoulet — The Christenson Collection of Miniature Japanese Woodblock Prints

Gallery 3J: Paul Jacoulet’s Surimono Woodblock Prints

Although Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) was born in Paris France, he moved to Japan with his family when he was only three years old and lived there for the rest of his life. Jacoulet took an early interest in Japanese painting and woodblock prints. He created his first print in 1934. He preferred to publish his own prints and only worked with known highly skilled carvers and printers. Jacoulet is known for his stylized portraits of the people of Japan, China, Korea, and the South Pacific Islands. In addition to his larger prints, Jacoulet created 22 miniature surimono prints that were affixed within Christmas and New Year Greeting cards. All but three were miniaturizations of his larger prints, yet the same number of blocks and the same care in printing were employed in their production.