Harvest Moon

Medium:: Woodblock print
Source:: Japanese Art Open Database
Image courtesy of: Japanese Art Open Database

Description

This abstract woodblock print addresses the harvest moon — the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox, traditionally associated with the end of the agricultural year — through the formal and material language of mokuhanga. Rome likely uses large areas of warm orange-amber pigment, the color distinctive to the harvest moon seen low on the horizon through atmospheric haze, balanced against cooler passages that suggest the night sky or darkened landscape beneath. The washi support, with its characteristic translucency, allows pigment layers to interact optically in ways unavailable to opaque painting media, producing luminous color effects particularly suited to subjects involving light phenomena.