Unknown, woman and breast
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Beauty subjects are especially sought after in this category. Key value factors: As self-carved and self-printed works, sosaku-hanga value is tied to the artist's reputation and edition size. Larger formats, earlier editions, and historically significant works command the highest prices.
This woodblock print titled Unknown, Woman and Breast presents a female figure with an emphasis on the exposed breast, a subject that connects to both Western nude traditions and the [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) movement's interest in unidealized representations of the body. The unknown in the title may refer to the woman's identity or to the print's uncertain provenance. Nakao Yoshitaka treats the figure with the same direct carving that characterizes his other works, the breast not eroticized but presented as part of the body's natural form. The woodblock medium gives the flesh a particular quality, the grain of the wood imprinting subtle texture onto the printed skin.
Mutsu Tsuta onsen
1919
Color woodblock print; oban
1943
Color woodblock print
Autumn 1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
1924
Color woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Unknown, woman and breast was created by Nakao Yoshitaka (中尾義隆).
Unknown, woman and breast depicts nude and figures.
![[Grey Figure Posing] by Nakao Yoshitaka](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135848.jpg)
