Profundity No. 2

Created in 1959 as a color woodblock print, the second entry in Masaji's "Profundity" series tackles depth as both a physical and philosophical concept. To be profound is to be deep, and Masaji's abstract treatment likely builds visual depth through layered, dark-toned passages that seem to recede into the picture plane. The color woodblock medium excels at creating this illusion when multiple translucent layers of pigment are printed one atop another, each layer darkening and complicating the surface. The 1959 date places this print in the peak period of Masaji's productivity, when he was producing some of his most ambitious work while also participating in major print exhibitions in Japan and internationally. Profundity, as a subject, aligns with the philosophical seriousness that distinguished Masaji's generation of sosaku-hanga artists from their more commercially oriented shin-hanga contemporaries.