The victorious wind, a clear day “Red Fuji” by Katsushika Hokusai

The victorious wind, a clear day Red Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai

Japanese woodcut is an edged xylograph. Clichés were made for it on the longitudinal section of a pear or cherry tree.

The sketch of the artist was superimposed on the board, and all the lines were cut off from both sides with a sharp knife. At the same time, the smoothness of the pattern of wood fibers could not but affect its linear structure.

Initially, the engraving was monochrome, and all its relatively small circulation was tinted by hand, which gave the works a special charm of immediacy and man-madeness. The early period of the development of engraving dates from 1680-1760.

The first outstanding master was Hishikawa Moronobu. His easel graphics on love-lyrical and genre themes were distinguished by calligraphic expressiveness of lines, glorification of earthly beauty, decorative, emphasized by the desire for color. Most of the works of Hishikawa Moronobu have a horizontal format, akin to the format of the book reversal. With a book they are related and vignettes in the corners of the sheet.

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