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Cat Making Up

A color woodblock print of two orangeand white cats with pink noses represented in cubist-like design against a blue, gray and black background

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  • A color woodblock print of two orangeand white cats with pink noses represented in cubist-like design against a blue, gray and black background

Date:

1962

Artist:

Inagaki Tomoo
Japanese, 1902–1980

About this artwork

This sketch and final print illustrate the artist’s working method. First, Inagaki Tomoo made a sketch in pencil that he later drew over in ink. He then laid the sketch face down on a wet block and rubbed it from the back to transfer the ink to the block, which he used as a guide for carving. Some of the ink outlines in the sketch have transferred onto the finished print, while other lines have been carved into the wood and therefore carry no color on the paper, as is the case with the contour of the cat’s leg.
Inagaki’s affection for geometric forms is apparent in this print, which has the quality of a stained-glass window. The print collector Oliver Statler, who knew the artist well, has written that there is only one cat in the print—the two heads represent the movement of the bathing cat.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Artist

Inagaki Tomoo

Title

Cat Making Up

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1957–1967

Medium

Color woodblock print

Dimensions

63.7 × 46.3 cm (25 1/8 × 18 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Albert L. Arenberg

Reference Number

1962.1138

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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