Courtisane Tsukasa uit het Ogiya huis 1795 - 1800

Ichirakutei Eisui made this print of the courtesan Tsukasa using woodblocks sometime in the late 1790s. Woodblock printing is an ingenious method of image production; each color you see was printed from a separately carved block. Consider the extraordinary skill required to create this image. Eisui would have had to be both an accomplished artist and a technically brilliant maker. Transferring his composition to the blocks, he then would have carefully carved away the negative space. This precise labor determined the work’s final appearance, with each line and color precisely placed to create depth and texture. But what’s most fascinating is that Eisui would not likely have carved the blocks himself. Instead, he would have relied on a team of artisans to realize his design. This division of labor is common to many forms of industrial production, reminding us that even seemingly handmade objects are often the result of collaborative work. By recognizing the role of these anonymous craftspeople, we can appreciate the full social context of this beautiful image.