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Katsushika Hokusai

Canary and Herbaceous Peony, ca. 1834

Description

Maker

  • Katsushika Hokusai, 1760-1849, Japanese

Title

Canary and Herbaceous Peony

Year

ca. 1834

Medium

Monochrome woodblock print

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • ink

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

Sheet: 27.2 x 19.1 cm (10 11/16 x 7 1/2 inches) chuban; Mat size: B

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription at right.
[text and poems]
color notations in katakana syllabary

Place

Japan

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.484

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Works in Process

July 31, 2021 - January 23, 2022

This rare pairing of a printer’s proof with a finished print offers a glimpse into the collaborative nature of the woodblock printing process. Upon receiving a design sketch from the artist—in this case Hokusai—the carver would paste it onto a woodblock and cut into it. As a result, few original sketches survive today. A monochrome proof like this one was printed from the carved block and returned to the artist for instructions and edits. The annotations on this proof’s right side, which specify color preference, were added to advance the process.

Given the compositional differences between these two works, it is unclear whether the print eventually evolved from this specific proof. Nevertheless, the record of the collaborative interaction between artist, carver, and printer remains noteworthy. [see also 34.500].

Process and Function

January 19 - May 27, 2007

This drawing resembles the Hokusai print to the left, although it is not the artist's original design for that work. Since it is inscribed with color notations, it also indicates how a sketch could be used by the publisher and block cutter in the print production process.

Hokusai's Sketchbooks

May 22 - July 25, 1992

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 (CC0 1.0). This object is Canary and Herbaceous Peony with the accession number of 34.484. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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