Untitled

Attributed to Kiyochika, this untitled woodblock print is described in its cataloguing as abstract, a category that may encompass both formally non-representational compositions and works whose subject matter is obscured by condition, cropping, or the loss of accompanying documentation. The physical properties of the [washi](/glossary/washi) support and the pigment layers visible in close examination can provide information about the print's production date and context—earlier works typically used thicker [gampi](/glossary/gampi) sheets with heavier sizing, while later commercial work often appeared on thinner, less carefully prepared papers. In the absence of a title or subject identification, such material evidence becomes an important supplement to formal analysis. His characteristic approach to sky passages, building up indigo and gray-green layers over a lighter ground using repeated [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) applications, may be identifiable in even a fragmentary or partially legible composition.