The Bridge
by Bertha Lum
- Date:
- 1912
- Medium:
- Color woodcut
- Dimensions:
- 23.8 × 12.5 cm
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
by Bertha Lum
$1,000–$8,000. Common subjects: $1,000–$2,500. Key value factors: Bertha Lum's status as a pioneering Western woodblock printmaker gives her work historical value. Her Art Nouveau-influenced prints are particularly sought after.
A bridge spans water in this 1912 color woodcut, one of the fundamental structural and symbolic elements of the Japanese landscape. Bridges in Japanese art carry meanings beyond their practical function — they represent connection, transition, and the human imposition of order upon natural terrain. Famous bridges like the Shinkyo at Nikko or the many arched bridges of shrine complexes have been depicted countless times by Japanese printmakers. Lum's version focuses on the bridge as a compositional element, its arc or horizontal line creating a visual anchor within the surrounding landscape. Her Western training in perspective may inflect the spatial treatment differently from a purely Japanese approach, creating a subtle hybrid quality that characterized much of her printmaking.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
The Bridge was created by Bertha Lum in 1912.
The Bridge depicts landscapes and bridges.
The Bridge measures 23.8 × 12.5 cm.
