Morning Moon 86

Medium:: Woodblock print
Source:: Asian Collection Internet Auction
Image courtesy of: Asian Collection Internet Auction

Description

This print from Amano Kunihiro's extended Morning Moon series renders the pale lunar form suspended in a pre-dawn sky using his characteristic merger of geometric structure and natural imagery. The numeral designation suggests sequential variation within a sustained compositional investigation. Amano likely employs graduated bokashi to evoke the luminous, diffuse quality of a moon near the horizon at early morning, when its light competes with the first warmth of dawn. His characteristic embossed surfaces may add tactile depth to the sky field, a technique he developed to push beyond the flat ink layers of conventional nishiki-e. The restrained palette — likely grays, muted blues, and off-whites — reflects his move toward abstraction while retaining legible natural subject matter.