Upward
- Medium:
- Mokuhanga (woodblock print)
- Dimensions:
- 44.5 × 80 cm
- Image courtesy of
- Good Goods Gallery
Description
Upward is a mokuhanga landscape oriented on vertical movement — tree trunks rising through the picture plane, a hillside ascending toward a pale sky, or the upward reach of bare branches in winter. The vertical compositional axis resists the horizontal panorama common in Western landscape convention and aligns Brodbeck's work with the hanging-scroll sensibility of East Asian painting traditions she studied during her training in Japan. Water-based pigments on washi allow the pale, luminous ground of the paper to function as sky or atmospheric light at the top of the composition, with darker pigment masses anchoring the lower register. The single upward movement creates a sense of directed attention and formal economy.
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
Upward was created by Mary Brodbeck.
Upward depicts landscapes.
Upward measures 44.5 × 80 cm.