Museo CYDT

Museo CYDT

Hiroshige, Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake, 1857. Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Next, one should determine impression and state. Impression refers to how early the image was pulled from the woodblock. The earliest printings exhibit visible wood grain and clean, sharp lines, while later impressions present less crisp lines as the block is worn down. Particularly popular designs would be printed so many times that the woodblock would have to be recarved, usually with slight differences from the original. The prints pulled from these blocks would be a different state than those of the original block. State also refers to any color changes that might occur in the printing of a design.

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Museo CYDT