$500–$5,000. Common prints: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Kitaoka's refined style has a modest but loyal collector base.
The long shadows cast by a setting sun transform a familiar landscape into something more ambiguous and beautiful — the familiar world defamiliarized by the angle and warmth of evening light. Kitaoka's "Shadow of the Sunset" uses the lengthening shadows of late day as compositional elements in their own right, the dark shapes thrown across the ground becoming abstract forms that both describe the light's direction and create a secondary, shadow-world overlay on the visible landscape.
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.
Shadow of the Sunset was created by Fumio Kitaoka (北岡文雄).
Shadow of the Sunset depicts landscapes, night scenes, and abstract.
