Artwork Page for Dancing Fox

Details / Information for Dancing Fox

Dancing Fox

1900–1910s

Ohara Koson 小原 古邨

(Japanese, 1877–1945)
Culture
Medium
Color woodcut
Credit Line
Gift in honor of Delbert Gutridge, CMA Registrar 1968-1996 2016.546
Catalogue raisonné
Newland, Perree, and Schapp K41.15
Edition
Edition with grasses in the background.
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

In this whimsical Japanese color woodcut, a fox holds a giant green leaf on its head and dances on its hind legs in the rain. A prolific printmaker, Ohara Koson created hundreds of kachōga, a genre encompassing images of nature. Translating characteristics of traditional Japanese painting into color woodcuts, Koson depicted flowers, insects, fish, birds, and mammals. Dancing Fox is one of a few in which he imagined a lighthearted scenario.
A vertical woodblock print depicts a slender orange fox standing on its hind legs above a dark puddle. Capped with a large, scalloped green leaf, the fox gazes at its reflection. Wispy blades of tall grass sweep across the muted gray background. To the right, black calligraphy and a red seal appear. The fox's fur features warm, subtle gradients, and its paws are lifted mid-step as it peers into the water.

Dancing Fox

1900–1910s

Ohara Koson

(Japanese, 1877–1945)

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