Tranquil Rain
by Ansei Uchima
- Date:
- 1963
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Tranquil Rain (1963) is a color woodblock print that pairs two words — tranquil and rain — that together define a specific atmospheric condition: not the violence of a storm or the dreariness of persistent drizzle, but a gentle, steady rainfall that quiets the landscape and turns surfaces reflective. This kind of rain has a particular sound (soft, continuous, without thunder) and a particular light (gray, even, shadowless) that Uchima translates into the layered transparency of his color woodblock printing. Each pass of the baren over inked block and dampened paper adds another layer of moisture to the image, the physical process of printing mirroring the subject's accumulative quality.
More Prints by Ansei Uchima
More Rain Prints
Rain Shower at Shо̄no, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tо̄kaidо̄ (Tо̄kaidо̄ gojusan tsugi)
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Shōno: Driving Rain (Shōno hakuu), from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi), also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great Tōkaidō
c. 1833-36
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Omiya in Rain (Ame no Omiya)
Ame no Omiya
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Teradomari no yau
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tranquil Rain was created by Ansei Uchima (内間安瑆) in 1963.
Tranquil Rain depicts rain.