Island
- Medium:
- Mokuhanga (woodblock print)
- Image courtesy of
- Artist website
Description
Island is a mokuhanga landscape depicting an isolated landmass — likely a wooded islet set within calm open water, a recurring motif in Brodbeck's Great Lakes-informed imagery. The compositional tension between the contained mass of land and the surrounding expanse of negative space reflects a Zen-inflected sensibility common in her work. Brodbeck's water-based pigments yield a characteristic translucency; layers of pale blue and grey bokashi gradients define the water, while deeper greens or earth tones anchor the island's dense canopy. The stillness of the water surface, suggested by unbroken horizontal color fields, reinforces the print's meditative quality.
More Prints by Mary Brodbeck
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Island was created by Mary Brodbeck.
Island depicts landscapes.