Earthworm (Mimizu); Cricket (Kōrogi), from the Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (Ehon mushi erami)
Original title: Earthworm (Mimizu); Cricket (Kōrogi), from the Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (Ehon mushi erami)
kurzbeschreibung
This double-page spread comes from Kitagawa Utamaro's woodblock-printed picture book of 1788. On the left it presents an earthworm, on the right a cricket, each set among plants. The page was produced as a colour woodblock print on paper, printed with ink and colours.
Description
On the left half a small insect, most likely a cricket, sits on a plant with narrow green leaves and a slender stem. The right side is filled by a plant with broad, heart-shaped leaves in several shades of green and a scattering of pink blossoms. A plain, single-coloured ground lets the motifs stand out. Japanese characters are distributed across both pages, offering explanatory notes on the pictures.
Context
With the 'Ehon mushi erami' Utamaro brought out one of the first Japanese picture books devoted entirely to insects in 1788. During the Edo period the market for illustrated books (ehon) flourished. This page bears witness to the period's interest in close observation of nature and in portraying small creatures.
Impact
Naturalistic colours and precise lines give the page an immediate liveliness. The calm, well-balanced arrangement invites close looking and creates a meditative closeness to nature.
Technique
The page was printed as a woodcut from a book, using ink and colours on paper. Delicate lines and graduated colour transitions attest to the high craftsmanship of Japanese colour woodblock printing in the late eighteenth century.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)