White Mountains
by Ansei Uchima
- Date:
- 1963
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
White Mountains (1963) is a color woodblock print depicting mountain terrain under snow or in bright atmospheric conditions that bleach the peaks to near-white. The title may reference the White Mountains of New Hampshire — a range Uchima could have visited from New York — or a more generalized vision of mountains drained of color by altitude, snow, or intense light. The challenge of depicting white mountains in a print medium is fundamentally a challenge of subtlety: the artist must articulate form, shadow, and spatial depth within a narrow tonal range near the top of the value scale, using the barest modulations of off-white, pale blue, and warm gray to define ridgelines and slopes.
More Prints by Ansei Uchima
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
White Mountains was created by Ansei Uchima (内間安瑆) in 1963.
White Mountains depicts landscapes, snow scenes, and mountains.