Object Details
Artist
Kawanabe Kyosai 河鍋暁斎 (1831-1889)
Label
Kyosai is reputed to have produced as many as two hundred drawings in one day. His most celebrated painting was an ink-on-paper rendering of a crow on a branch, an award-winning creation exhibited in 1881 at the Second National Industrial Exhibition in Tokyo. Its success obliged him to satisfy a great demand for similar images. Here, he achieves the feel of brushwork with an ironic reversal, using the white, uninked paper to compose the central elements. The bird's eye and the slightest gradation in and around the beak further nuance this print.
Provenance
To 2003
Robert O. Muller
From 2003
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution by bequest from Robert O. Muller [1]
Notes:
[1] Accessioned on December 14, 2003. See Acquisition Consideration Form, in object file. From 2003-2023, the object was part of the National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection and on March 21, 2023, the work was internally transferred to the National Museum of Asian Art Collection.
Collection
National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Exhibition History
The Worlds of Dreams: Modern Japanese Engravings from the Collection of Robert O. Muller (October 26, 2006 to January 7, 2007)
Dream Worlds: Modern Japanese Prints and Paintings from the Robert O. Muller Collection (November 06, 2004 to January 7, 2007)
Previous custodian or owner
Robert O. Muller (1911-2003)
Credit Line
Robert O. Muller Collection
Date
after 1881
Period
Meiji era
Accession Number
S2003.8.489
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Print
Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image): 36.2 x 24.8 cm (14 1/4 x 9 3/4 in)
Origin
Japan
Related Online Resources
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See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
Meiji era (1868 - 1912)
crow
Japan
Japanese Art
Robert O. Muller collection
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_S2003.8.489