Impression of a violinist (a portrait of Suwa Nejiko (1920-2012))

A second impression of Onchi's portrait of violinist Suwa Nejiko, this sheet illustrates the artist's principle that each pull from the blocks should be a unique work. Onchi habitually altered ink color, density of [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi), registration, and paper weight between impressions, so that two prints from the same key block read as distinct interpretations of the same subject. Here the seated figure of the player and the abstract sweep evoking sound and gesture are realized through Onchi's signature combination of flat color planes and softly graded passages, hand-burnished with the [baren](/glossary/baren) onto washi. The portrait belongs to the cycle of musician images Onchi pursued in the late 1940s, in which he sought a printmaking equivalent for the experience of listening. As with all his [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) work, the artist alone designed, carved, and printed every element, refusing the traditional division of labor between eshi, [horishi](/glossary/horishi), and [surishi](/glossary/surishi).