#kacho_e — Public Fediverse posts

"Heron in Rain," Ohara Koson, 1928.

Ohara (1877-1945) was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the shin-hanga school, a style that revived the old ukiyo-e stylings with modern influences.

Although his work includes some animal prints, historical works (mostly of the Russo-Japanese War), and some portraits, he's best known for his kachō-e works, or bird-and-flower, a style that began in China but spread all over Asia, from Korea to Iran. Bird-and-flower paintings are exactly that: Birds and flowers, and often very charming and decorative.

This print of a heron doesn't have flowers but it's one of Ohara's most popular works and reproduced often. The simplicity of the heron in the rain, presented with few details, verges on the abstract, and is a very good example of what the shin-hanga school could do.

From the Art Institute of Chicago.

#Art #OharaKoson #AsianArt #JapaneseArt #Shin_Hanga #Kacho_e

"Water Lilies," Ohara Koson, 1920s.

Ohara (1877-1945) was a pre-eminent painter and woodblock print designer of the late 18th and early 20th centuries. He belonged to the shin-hanga school, which revived the styles and aesthetics of the ukiyo-e school, but also was a major practitioner of the kachō-e subschool... kachō-e means "bird and flower". His specialty was images of the transitory moments of nature, like a bird that could fly away any second, or as we have here, beautiful blooms but with a pad that's been nibbled on.

He also did some historical work, with scenes from the Russo-Japanese war, and some satirical prints, like a delightful scene of sumo-wrestling frogs. But his kachō-e work is best-known. He sold well in the United States, even during the start of WWII.

From the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

#Art #AsianArt #JapaneseArt #WaterLilies #OharaKoson #ukiyo_e #Kacho_e #BirdsAndFlowers #Woodcut #FlowerFriday