Woman in Kimono

A graphite drawing of a woman in kimono — likely a study from life for a print subject — demonstrating Goyo's practice of exhaustive preliminary draftsmanship before committing any composition to the woodblock medium. Goyo's graphite studies capture the subtle asymmetries and particularity of real women that his finished prints then idealize without entirely erasing: you can sense the living person behind the print's perfected surface. The kimono's complex pattern and drape are recorded with the precision of a designer who understands construction.