Whiskers & Wings · Album leaf · Kawanabe Kyōsai, c. 1887
Cat Catching a Frog
One leap, caught in a single breath of ink.
The Work
In the reeds, a tabby pins a small frog under its paw. An album leaf in ink and soft color on silk.
Look Closer
Head low, tail straight up, eyes locked on its prey. The fur is built from countless fine lines, the stripes from soft washes of ink.
The Artist
Kyōsai was born in 1831 in Koga and moved to Edo as a child. At six he joined Utagawa Kuniyoshi's studio, then trained in the Kanō school.
The Artist
Legend says that at nine he sketched a severed head he found in a river. He called himself a "demon of painting," mixing Kanō skill with ukiyo-e wit.
Japan at the Time
Around 1887, ballroom dances were held at the Rokumeikan as Japan rushed to Westernize. Many old schools of painting lost their patrons.
Culture & Values
Using animals to laugh at human life goes back to the Frolicking Animals scrolls of the 12th century. Kyōsai was its modern master.
Meanwhile, in the World
In 1887 Van Gogh was collecting ukiyo-e in Paris and copying Hiroshige in oils. In London, Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance.
Afterward
Much of Kyōsai's work went abroad and is held in places like the British Museum. His descendants run a museum devoted to him in Warabi, Saitama.
Listen while you look
Ten quiet minutes with this work alone, with Cat In The Reeds and Frog On The Run — or keep going through the full hour of Whiskers & Wings.
Take this print home
Printed to order and shipped worldwide.
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