Sparrows and Camellia in Snow
c. 1831/33
Medium
Color woodblock print; o-tanzaku
Dimensions
38 × 17.3 cm (15 × 6 13/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
11039
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Of the two versions of this design in the Art Institute's collection, this image is accepted as the earlier printing of this famous design. The poetry appearing on both impressions has been identified by the scholar Suzuki Juzo as the first two lines of an unsigned Chinese poem entitled “Inquiry of a Stork” by Hakurakuten (772–846). It reads: Crows and storks fight over something to eat and sparrows over where to sleep, You stand there all alone by the pond, the wind blows and snow piles up.
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), born Andō Tokutarō, was the last great master of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking and one of the most influential landscape artists in history. Born in Edo (modern Tokyo) into a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens, Hiroshige transformed landscape printmaking into a poetic meditation on nature, weather, and everyday life. His revolutionary approac...