Accession Number
1998/2.22

Title
Untitled [Zebra] or horse

Artist(s)
Nakayama Tadashi

Object Creation Date
1958

Medium & Support
color woodblock print with gold on paper

Dimensions
14 7/16 in. x 20 3/8 in. ( 36.6 cm x 51.8 cm )

Credit Line
Bequest of Alva Gordon Sink

Subject matter
Nakayama’s works can be divided into three periods; the first (early) period from 1955-1964, the second (middle) period from 1965-1968, and the third (late) period from 1969 to his last painting. In the first period, the common theme is horses. Moreover, he began experimenting with portraying girls, although the girls aren’t as developed and controlled as in later periods. He began portraying butterflies of different colors and sizes, he experimented with architecture, and he painted in most brown and green shades. The second period, he developed a new theme where he started portraying the horses with flowers, mostly pansies and poppies, and butterflies. The background colors also became lighter than in the first period. During this period he became more comfortable and controlled with his work; there is greater depth and motion on the page. In the third period, the subject of the prints mostly portrays a girl and he starts to use more complicated patterns and colors. He also gained a greater mastery over showing perspective.

Physical Description
A black, brown and white striped horse in the motion of running. The background is brown with white and orange circles.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
color print

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
abstraction
circles (plane figures)
color prints (prints)
horses (equipment)
stripes