The Observing Eye
- Date:
- 1959
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print; edition 4/20
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
The 1959 Observing Eye, edition 4 of 20—a very small edition, likely a highly personal or experimental print—depicts the fundamental act of mountaineering perception: the climber's trained eye reading terrain, weather, snow conditions, and route possibility with the accumulated intelligence of long experience. The observing eye was Azechi's eye as well as his mountain man's, the artist and the climber sharing the same quality of concentrated attention that made both practices possible.
More Prints by Umetaro Azechi
![Untitled [portrait of a boy] by Umetaro Azechi](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/136025.jpg)
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
The Observing Eye was created by Umetaro Azechi (畦地梅太郎) in 1959.
The Observing Eye depicts landscapes, figures, and mountains.