The End of Winter II by Eva Pietzcker - Davidson Galleries

The numbering indicates a series, with this print revisiting a subject Pietzcker has treated before. The end of winter in temperate regions presents a transitional landscape: lingering snow patches, exposed earth and bare branches, the first signs of thaw. Mokuhanga handles such mixed conditions through layered impressions and [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi), where the blockprinter can suggest patchy snow or wet ground without literal description. The print likely uses a restrained palette — [sumi](/glossary/sumi) blacks, browns, white reserves of unprinted [washi](/glossary/washi) for snow — with edges softened by the water-based pigment's interaction with dampened paper. Pietzcker's seasonal work places her within the [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e) tradition's attention to natural cycles, though her subjects are typically European or North American rather than the meisho landmarks of Edo-period print culture. The II suggests an extended engagement with a particular site or motif, a working method consistent with her overall practice of returning to landscapes across multiple prints rather than producing one-off views.