Cat Playing with a Toy Butterfly, from the series "Thirty-six Pictures of Birds (Sanjuroku kinzoku)"
Totoya Hokkei
1828
Medium
Color woodblock print with metallic pigments; surimono shikishiban
Dimensions
21.2 × 17.7 cm (8 3/8 × 7 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81469
About the Artist
Totoya Hokkei · 1780–1850
Totoya Hokkei (魚屋 北渓, 1780–1850), born Iwakubo Tatsuyuki in Edo (modern Tokyo), began his life as a humble fishmonger in the Yotsuya Samegahashi district, a trade reflected in his art name "Totoya," meaning fish shop. He transitioned to art through rigorous training, first studying under Kanō Yōsen'in Korenobu, head of the Kobikichō branch of the prestigious Kanō school, where he honed landscape p...