Sarah E. Thompson > Quotes

“Single-sheet prints in the ukio-e style began to appear around 1680, offered by the same publishers who were producing woodblock-printed books. An efficient devision of labor allowed multiple copies to be produced at high speed, without the need of a printing press. The publisher controlled the entire process, contracting with an artist to design the images; a block cutter to carve the wooden printing blocks, one for each color; and a printer to ink and print the blocks, placing each sheet of paper face down on the inked block and rubbing the back of the sheet with a pad to transfer the ink. Each of these artisans might have apprentices or assistants who were also involved in the process.”
― Sarah E. Thompson

“[Hokusai’s] most famous works — color woodblock landscape prints issued in series, beginning with Thirty-Six views of Mount Fuji — were produced within a relatively short time, in an amazing burst of creative energy that lasted from about 1830 to 1836, when he was already in his seventies.”
― Sarah E. Thompson