Collection Online as of September 28, 2023
Division-Work No. 100
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Hamanishi Katsunori 黒田茂樹
(Japanese, b. 1949)
Mezzotint with gold leaf
Support: MUSE MAT THUNDERS watermarked wove paper
Sheet: 74.2 x 49.8 cm (29 3/16 x 19 5/8 in.); Platemark: 59.7 x 45.1 cm (23 1/2 x 17 3/4 in.)
Gift of Gloria and Leon Plevin in memory of Fred Schmidt 2002.106.a
Impression: 37
Location
not on view
Description
Although mezzotint is primarily a European technique, Hamanishi’s work is traditionally Japanese in many respects. The use of gold, which emphasizes the flatness of the scene and adds a wonderful decorative element, began in Japanese printmaking in the late 17th century. One hundred years earlier, gold paper served as a background for folding screens (see examples in gallery 121), also referenced in the tripartite arrangement of Division-Work No. 100.