Man and Girl 1787 - 1867

Kikugawa Eizan made this woodblock print, "Man and Girl," probably in the first half of the 19th century. This type of print is known as ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world." They were made by specialized artisans, including the artist who designed the image, a wood carver who translated the design into a series of blocks, and a printer who applied ink to the blocks and pressed them onto paper. These prints were not considered "high art" at the time, but rather a form of popular culture, affordable to a wide audience. The process of making ukiyo-e was a collaborative one, involving the skills of many different people. Eizan's image is defined by bold lines, flat planes, and subdued colors. The black ink defines the figures, while the pale pinks and browns add depth and texture. The print has a graphic quality, reminiscent of modern illustration, but it also reveals the hand of the artist in the subtle variations of the wood grain, and the slight misalignments of the blocks. It's the trace of labor that makes this image so compelling.