Image

RISDM 34-296.tif
RISDM 34-296.tif
Previous 1 2 / 2 Next

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Preparatory drawings: Titmouse on plum branch; Mandarin ducks under snow-laden bamboo

Description

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)

Title

Preparatory drawings: Titmouse on plum branch; Mandarin ducks under snow-laden bamboo

Period

Edo Period

Year

1840s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Image: 38.9 x 17.5 cm (15 5/16 x 6 7/8 inches) Mat size: D

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription

[text and poems]
Urawakaki (translates to) Little titmouse
ume o kuguri te*(translates to) twisting on the plum branch
shijûkara (translates to) glowing with youth
haru o sakasa ni (translates to) wants to be upside down
kosu kokochi semu* (translates to) when the New Year arrives
Oku shimo no (translates to) A layer of frost
ue ni mo yuki o (translates to) and a cover of snow
kasanekite (translates to) slowly deepening
kireba kisamu* to (translates to) We will melt away
oshidori no naku (translates to) cry the mandarin ducks

Signature: Hiroshige hitsu

Seals: Artist's seal | Utagawa | Hiro (diamond seal)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.296

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Process and Function
Traditional Japanese Printmaking Technique
Jan 19, 2007 – May 27, 2007

Label copy

This finely finished drawing by Hiroshige was apparently never employed for a print. Usually drawings of this type did not survive because they were cut up as the block cutter traced the design with a sharp tool onto the keyblock. The double composition demonstrates how prints such as that to the right would have been designed and prepared for printing from a single block.

Seeing with the Mind's Eye
The Art of Printmaking in Japan
Dec 31, 1999 – Mar 19, 2000

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Preparatory drawings: Titmouse on plum branch; Mandarin ducks under snow-laden bamboo, 1840s
ink and color on paper
Image: 38.9 x 17.5 cm (15 5/16 x 6 7/8 inches) Mat size: D
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.296

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.