Fallen Leaves
1959
18 1/2 x 13 1/16 in. (47 x 33.2 cm)
Hagiwara Hideo
Japan
(1913 - 2007)
Object Type:
Print
Medium and Support:
Color woodcut
Credit Line:
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Stern
Accession Number:
1960.15
Location: Not currently on view
Hagiwara Hideo began his career as an oil painter, turning to printmaking after World War II. He quickly became one of the most influential and prolific printmakers in post-war Japan. He subscribed to the creative print movement’s philosophy that art is self-expression, and should be the work of a single creator. By the late 1950s, his work was largely abstract.
In this print, Hagiwara employed one of his trademark innovative techniques. He first printed the back of the sheet from an inked piece of plywood. By applying pressure to the front of the sheet, he literally pulled the color through the paper, creating a soft patina. Remaining colors and lines were then printed from additional blocks in the traditional way, on the front surface of the sheet.
[Label text, 2014]