This mezzotint depicts the loquat (biwa), a fruit with particular resonance in Japanese visual culture, where it appears in [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e) traditions as both subject and seasonal marker of early summer. The fruit's matte, golden-orange skin and oval form suit mezzotint's tonal range: the technique allows the artist to model the subtle dimpling of the peel and the soft sheen of the flesh without resorting to hatched line work. One or more leaves may accompany the fruit, providing a darker foil against which the warm tones register. The intimate scale typical of Ito's botanical still lifes gives the loquat close, considered attention unusual in Western printmaking but consonant with Japanese traditions of precise natural observation.
Loquat was created by Wako Ito (伊藤和光).
Loquat uses Etching, on mezzotint.
Loquat depicts still life.
Loquat measures 38.1 × 27.9 cm.
