Pine Trees at Karasaki 1918

Ito Shinsui’s Pine Trees at Karasaki is a woodblock print, and look at the work that went into carving the block, and carefully layering the colours in the printmaking process. I can imagine Shinsui-san out in the landscape observing the scene so closely, and translating it into this visual language. Look at the grainy texture of the biggest tree trunk. It gives the tree an incredible sense of volume and age. Maybe Shinsui-san wanted to monumentalize the scene. The placement of the stone lantern in the middle ground, it kind of looks like a person. I wonder if that's intentional? Maybe it's a stand-in for a figure that Shinsui-san felt was integral to the scene. Printmaking is an old and amazing art. These types of artworks show how artists have been in conversation across time, each adding their own voice and perspective.