Essence Mulberry

Frankenthaler drew technical inspiration from Japanese Ukiyo-e printmaking, which employs transparent inks, shaped blocks, and natural woodgrain to achieve a fusion of color and substance. For Essence Mulberry, she used four blocks, each from a different tree species—oak, birch, walnut and luan—to produce shapes with visibly different grains. Instead of fitting jigsaw-cut shapes together like a puzzle, Frankenthaler layered the cut blocks, allowing for both sharply defined edges and gentle gradients that mimic her painterly style.

The title Essence Mulberry carries layered meanings, referring to a tree on the workshop’s property, as well as to a hue and to the fibers of many Japanese papers. The palette, meanwhile, was inspired by the faded hues of Renaissance prints she had seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.