Falcon on a Willow

Isoda Koryūsai • 1780

Falcon on a Willow, 1780

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The technique here is marked by white lines and areas set against a dark background. Damp paper was placed on a carved wooden block and pressed into the engraved incisions. The paper was then hand colored, the sunken areas remaining white and appearing in reserve against the colored background. The effect is meant to resemble a stone rubbing, a traditional technique in China used to reproduce and preserve images on monuments on paper.