The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Falcon on a Willow

c. 1780

attributed to Isoda Koryūsai

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

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.
  • ?-1942
    Henri Vever [1854–1942], France
    March 26, 1974
    (Sotheby & Co., London, UK, March 26, 1974, part I, lot 88)
    1974-1979
    John R. Gaines
    May 23-25, 1979
    (Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, NY, May 23-25, 1979, lot 464, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith)
    1979-1985
    The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899-1998] given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1985-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sotheby's London. Highly Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Drawings, from the Henri Vever Collection: Part I. March 26, 1974. Reproduced: p. 69, lot no. 88
  • A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14-November 13, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=Falcon on a Willow|url=false|author=Isoda Koryūsai|year=c. 1780|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.363