Paper Doily

Luigi Rist

Rist was primarily self-taught in the art of woodcut printmaking, having taken a brief course on the subject in college and later becoming inspired by an exhibition of Japanese woodcuts in New York in 1929. Unable to find a mentor in the techniques used by Japanese masters, he opted to teach himself, and until 1939 was left to his own devices.

When Hiroshi Yoshida published Japanese Woodcut Printing in 1939 it became a turning point for Rist, not just as a result of the guide, but in how he was able to combine his self-taught style with that of his greatest inspiration. The result, as seen in “Paper Doily,” is a unique composition combining Western design sensibility with the delicate tonality produced using Eastern techniques. With its blushing, sun-ripened pears and intricate woodgrain, and the negative-space pop of the doily, “Paper Doily,” exemplifies the culmination of Rist’s ability to find the path despite there being no map, and achieving beauty from his own imagination.

This impression is a proof, unsigned by Rist. His name is written in pencil in the lower right, likely annotated posthumously by his wife, Ida Marie.