Artwork Page for Falcon on a Willow

Details / Information for Falcon on a Willow

Falcon on a Willow

c. 1780

attributed to Isoda Koryūsai 磯田湖龍齋

(Japanese, 1735–1790)
Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
color woodblock print with hand coloring; stonerubbing technique (ishizuri-e)
Measurements
Overall: 77.5 x 29.8 cm (30 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.363
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The technique here is marked by white lines and areas set against a dark background. Damp paper was placed on a carved wooden block and pressed into the engraved incisions. The paper was then hand colored, the sunken areas remaining white and appearing in reserve against the colored background. The effect is meant to resemble a stone rubbing, a traditional technique in China used to reproduce and preserve images on monuments on paper.
A vertically oriented woodblock print with hand coloring on black paper depicts a falcon perched on a thick willow tree trunk. The bird, with patterned gray and white feathers, looks down toward pink and white flowers. Slender white willow branches drape from the top, while a pale blue stream flows past the base. This high-contrast composition features sharp outlines against a stark, solid black background.

Falcon on a Willow

c. 1780

Isoda Koryūsai

(Japanese, 1735–1790)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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