−
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Waseda University
- Image courtesy of
- Waseda University
Description
The specific subject and series affiliation of this Kawanabe Kyosai woodblock print have not been confirmed from available sources. Kyosai's work in the print medium spans both popular entertainments and more serious artistic statements, and his prints were collected by Japanese and foreign audiences alike during his lifetime. The British engineer Henry Dyer and the architect Josiah Conder were among Western collectors who sought his work, and Kyosai's international reputation grew significantly after his participation in the Vienna Exposition of 1873. The nishiki-e polychrome technique used in this print was well established by the mid-nineteenth century, employing water-based pigments on sized washi to achieve the saturated, layered color effects characteristic of the medium.