Through the Night

Figures and landscape merge in darkness in this 1912 color woodcut, where the night becomes an active presence rather than mere absence of light. Lum tackles the technical problem of the nocturnal print — maintaining visual interest and legibility within a predominantly dark palette — by strategically placing light sources or light-toned elements against the enveloping blackness. The "through" of the title suggests passage and movement, a journey undertaken after sundown when familiar terrain becomes mysterious and distances feel amplified. Printing dark areas in water-based woodblock technique requires building up pigment through multiple impressions or using concentrated applications, and the paper must be carefully dampened to accept dense color without blotching. Lum's control of this process allows the night scene to read as velvety rather than muddy.