An alley

Executed in etching and aquatint in 1970, this early work shows Tanaka already in confident command of his intaglio technique. A narrow alley — the quintessential subject of his mature career — is rendered through the tonal depth that aquatint uniquely provides: soft gradations of shadow filling the compressed space between walls, while etched lines delineate the textures of stone, plaster, and aging timber. The play of light at the alley's far end draws the eye inward through the shadowed corridor.