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Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

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

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 and color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Sheet: 38.7 x 17.6 cm (15 1/4 x 6 15/16 inches) Mat size: D

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription Text/Poem: うら若き　梅をくゝりて　四十雀　春をさかさに　こすこゝちせむ　年垣真春

おく霜の　上にも雪を　かさね着て　きれば　着寒と　をし鳥のなく　年垣真春
Translation: Little titmouse twisting on the plum branch glowing with youth wants to be upside down when the New Year arrives.

A layer of frost and a cover of snow slowly deepening We will melt away cry the mandarin ducks;

Signature: 廣重筆 Hiroshige hitsu (Brushed by Hiroshige)

Seals: Deisgner's seal: 歌川 Utagawa, ヒロ Hiro

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.296

Type

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

Image use

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Public Domain 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
Sheet: 38.7 x 17.6 cm (15 1/4 x 6 15/16 inches) Mat size: D
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.296

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