Menpes was one of the foremost figures in British Japonisme and one of the first Western painters to travel to Japan to study Japanese art seriously. He went first in 1887 and again in 1896. Although the print was printed in 1914, the initial image is probably from the latter trip, because on that occasion he went to Japan for the express purpose of commissioning all of the interior fittings for his newly constructed London studio-house. In keeping with attitudes of the arts and crafts movement, Menpes felt much Western work was shoddy and was seeking the fine hand craftsmanship of Japan. This necessitated visiting many workshops (especially in Kyoto) and Menpes’ admiration was expressed in the chapter entitled “Workers” in his 1901 book “Japan,” (A&C Black publishers). A watercolor of this subject is reproduced opposite page 158 of that text.

Menpes made at least 3 different plates from this angle in this bronze workshop; they are referred to as “Bronze Workers in a Workshop (large plate),” “Bronze Workers in a Workshop (small plate),” and “Bronze Workers.” Each successively focuses more closely on the 2 workers pictured here. This sequential approach was highly informative for his audience, providing the general ambience of the workshop, a more specific context, and a detailed exploration of the workers themselves. The print offered here is “Bronze Workers in a Workshop (small plate). It is signed in the plate, Mortimer Menpes 1914 and also in pencil in the lower right "Mortimer Menpes Imp" and carries his inventory number, 317, written in pencil in his hand in the lower left. (This is not an impression number; Menpes usually printed only 50 to 75 impressions from a plate.)

A major exhibition of his Venetian etchings ("Two Views of Venice: Canaletto and Menpes") was held two years ago at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City and was reviewed quite favorably in such sources as the Journal of the Print World, Art on Paper and Print Quarterly. The same exhibition has been shown at the university galleries at University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University. An exhibition entitled Japan Through Western Eyes: 1854 to the Present was held at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens located in Delray Beach, Florida, from November 14, 2002 through January 12, 2003. Of the 75 works on display, 20 were Menpes etchings and drypoints of Japan. A framed oil painting and copies of his book JAPAN (1901) were also included (4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach, FL 33446, 561-495-0233, or check their web site for a copy of the catalog.)