Isaac, Prosper-Alphonse

1858 – 1924
French

Not much is known about the life of Prosper-Alphonse Isaac. He grew up in a well-to-do family in Calais, France and studied in Paris where he was introduced to Japanese art by Yoshijiro Urushibara. He became obsessed with the Japanese culture and explored the aesthetic first as a very successful textile designer and later with wood block prints, going so far as to sign his pieces with a red Hanko “chop”. After 1905 he concentrated on color block prints exclusively, with birds and animals as frequent subjects. He was an enthusiastic collector of Japanese art and objects, most of which was donated to museums after his death in 1924.