Small bird and ivy
c. 1843/47
Medium
Color woodblock print; koban
Dimensions
21.9 × 15.7 cm (8 5/8 × 6 1/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
56215
Art Historical Context
This delicate color woodblock print, titled *Small bird and ivy*, captures a moment of quiet natural beauty from Japan’s late Edo period. Created around 1843–47 by Utagawa Hiroshige II (also known as Shigenobu), it belongs to the ukiyo-e tradition of “pictures of the floating world.” As the adopted son and artistic heir of the celebrated Hiroshige I, the younger artist continued the master’s sensitive approach to landscape and kacho-e (bird-and-flower) subjects, rendering the tiny bird and curling ivy leaves with graceful lines and soft, layered colors. Measuring just 21.9 × 15.7 cm, the work...
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige II (Shigenobu) · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige II, born Suzuki Chinpei in 1826, was one of the most accomplished ukiyo-e artists of mid-nineteenth century Japan. He entered the studio of the celebrated landscape master Utagawa Hiroshige I — known for his iconic series "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" — and proved himself the most talented of the elder artist's few students. So highly regarded was the young pupil that...