Hanga
− by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print

by Kobayashi Kiyochika

Medium:
Woodblock print
Image courtesy of
Waseda University

Description

This unidentified Meiji-period woodblock print by Kiyochika draws from a body of work produced across several decades in which the artist repeatedly reexamined both traditional Japanese subjects and the transformed landscape of modern Tokyo. His figure prints — whether depicting geisha, Kabuki actors, or historical warriors — share with his landscape work an attention to tonal modeling that distinguishes them from the bold outlines and flat areas of color typical of his Utagawa school predecessors. The oban format, standard for Meiji commercial printmaking, would have structured the composition's proportions, with color registration achieved through the kento notch system shared by all woodblock artisans of the period. The specific iconographic details that would allow identification of this print's subject are not presently documented.

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Frequently Asked Questions

− was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).