Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry (Uso, shidarezakura), from an untitled series of flowers and birds
c. 1834
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
25.5 × 17.1 cm (10 1/16 × 6 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
33224
Art Historical Context
Nestled among Katsushika Hokusai's vast oeuvre, *Bullfinch and We Cherry (Uso, shidarezakura)* from an untitled series of flowers birds captures the delicate beauty of nature around 1834. This color woodblock print, in the compact chuban format (25.5 × 17.1 cm), exemplifies Hai's mastery of ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" that celebrated everyday poetry amid Japan's Edo period (1603–1868). Hokusai (1760–1849), renowned for iconic works like *The Great Wave off Kanagawa*, turned his keen eye to kachō-e—bird-and-flower prints that evoked seasonal harmony and the fleeting essence o...
About the Artist
Katsushika Hokusai · 1760–1849
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) stands as one of history's most influential artists, a Japanese master who revolutionized the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and profoundly shaped Western art. Born in the Katsushika district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to an artisan family, Hokusai lived through nearly nine decades of extraordinary creative evolution, adopting over thirty different artistic names t...