Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (The Insect Book) (Ehon mushi erami) (probably 1823 (later edition), Met-Objekt 4605)
Original title: Picture Book of Crawling Creatures (The Insect Book) (Ehon mushi erami) 画本虫撰
kurzbeschreibung
A sheet from a two-volume woodblock-printed book by Kitagawa Utamaro, made around 1823. It shows a flowering plant and a grasshopper, rendered in ink and color on paper. Japanese characters run vertically down the right side, accompanying the image.
Description
On the left, a plant grows with leaves and flowers in different stages, from closed bud to open bloom. The leaves clearly show their veins and surface texture. A grasshopper rests in a natural pose about midway up the plant. Gray dominates the palette, with green and brown accents. The right side carries vertically set Japanese characters.
Context
The book was created around 1788; the present edition dates from 1823. It belongs to the genre of insect books popular during the Edo period. J. Pierpont Morgan acquired the work; in 1917 it entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Impact
The calm arrangement and precise linework create a contemplative mood. Nature observation and artistic shaping merge, bringing out the aesthetics of the Japanese print. The restrained color choice underscores the elegance of the sheet.
Technique
The print was made as part of a multicolor woodblock-printed book. The lines were cut into the woodblock and transferred with ink and color onto paper. Several printing passes brought the colors onto the sheet one after another, allowing for fine tonal gradations.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)