Het Kyoto deel 1911 - 1912

This is ‘Het Kyoto deel’ by Nakazawa Hiromitsu, a Japanese printmaker, and it was made with woodblocks, though I couldn’t tell you when exactly. The limited color palette—blues, greens, and oranges—creates a serene yet vibrant atmosphere. It feels very process oriented to me, as if he is carefully considering how to best use each block. Look at the lower half of the print: ribbons of color flow like water or cloth, connecting the figures on the shore. The rhythmic repetition of these lines gives a sense of movement and continuity, tying the foreground to the background. The flat, opaque colors and simple shapes remind me a little of Matisse, though the subject matter, of course, is pure Japanese. The beauty of art lies in its ability to embrace ambiguity, allowing us to see and experience the world in new ways, inviting multiple interpretations.