Black Cat
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Key value factors: As self-carved and self-printed works, sosaku-hanga value is tied to the artist's reputation and edition size. Larger formats, earlier editions, and historically significant works command the highest prices.
A black cat — a subject that tests a woodblock printmaker's ability to render a form defined almost entirely by darkness and reflected light. Aoyama Masaharu's black cat composition deploys the technical resources of his exceptional carving and printing practice to create a form that is simultaneously simple (a dark mass) and complex (the subtle differentiation of fur texture, reflected highlights, and the expressive features of the face within the dark field). The black cat in Japanese culture carries ambiguous associations — both as a creature of good fortune and as a figure associated with the mysterious and nocturnal.
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Black Cat was created by Aoyama Masaharu (青山正治).
Black Cat depicts animals and cats.
