Title : General Watönai conquering the tigers in Formosa

Artist : Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Date : 1855

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : Printed during the height of full color printing in the mid-19th century, this print is typical of work by Kunisada, Hiroshige, and Kuniyoshi. In full color printing, as part of the complex narrative, the print surface is completely covered with saturated color. The heavy use of the color blue is an example of the popularity of Prussian blue (ferric-ferrocyanide), introduced to Japan in the late 18th century, but not widely available until the 1820s. Prussian blue is synthetic pigment known as bero or bero-ai in Japan, an abbreviation for Berorin, or Berlin. Prussian blue is a stable pigment. This print was conserved in 2005. Previously glued down to a secondary, acidic support or backing board, it had numerous creases and insect holes. It was removed from the damaging backing board, the creases were humidified and relaxed, and the losses were filled with toned Japanese paper. (Into the Light, 2005)

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