A Monarch of Japan 1901

This is Helen Hyde’s 'A Monarch of Japan', a woodcut print, probably made sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. I’m really drawn to the tenderness and intimacy of this image of two women with a child. It seems that Hyde was interested in the domestic lives of women in Japan. The way the soft grays and blacks blend, she's not trying to render everything perfectly but to capture something fleeting and ephemeral. The subtle use of line, to suggest form and volume with minimal means, is so assured! The floral patterns almost float on the women’s kimonos like they are a part of their skin. There is a flattening of perspective that feels very modern. It reminds me a little bit of how Mary Cassatt was looking at Japanese prints at this time, and using that influence to reimagine the space of the domestic. Isn’t it funny how artists influence each other across time and place?