Untitled

Okumura Masanobu

Date unknown · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

The invention of color block printing by the mid-eighteenth century irrevocably transformed the vigorous early ukiyo-e style. The new technique, which used separate blocks for each color, placed greater attention on coordinating the component parts and emphasized the process of color overlays. Masanobu's pioneering efforts in the field of color printing advanced a new aesthetic, one in which the essential quality of the print was dependent on line and color. As the articulation of the early ukiyo-e artist's virtuosic line diminished, a new style featuring graceful and lyrical lines bound to color harmonies emerged.

Artist

Okumura Masanobu

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929