print / drawing

A work presented both as a print and as a drawing, suggesting a preparatory or documentary status — perhaps a preliminary study for a larger print, or a unique work that bridges Kyosai's two primary media of ink drawing and woodblock printing. The distinction between drawing and print was, for Kyosai, less absolute than it might appear: his prints often have the spontaneous, brushy quality of drawings, while his drawings show the compositional rigor he had internalized through years of print design.