Common Kingfisher and Hydrangeas

Artist Utagawa Hiroshige I 歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797–1858)

Publisherpublished by Sanoya Kihei 佐野屋喜兵衛 (Kikakudō 喜鶴堂) (Japanese)

Dateabout 1836

Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper: o-tanzaku

Dimensions37.1 x 17.6 cm (14 5/8 x 6 15/16 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Object number1901.59.1469

DescriptionBird: Common Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis Linnaeus; Flowers: Hydrangea macrophylla
Label TextThe Common Kingfisher (kawasemi) has traditionally been associated with early summer when one can admire its iridescent blue-green and red feathers as the bird flies over streams looking to catch fish. Hydrangeas (ajisai) are similarly associated with the rainy, early-summer season when the blossoms shift in colors from purples and blues to pinks. The Kingfisher, one of Hiroshige's favorite bird subjects, is here depicted plunging towards the hydrangea. Allowing us to understand why the kingfisher had been tempted to dive, the blossoms are rendered without outlines-as if consisting of fragrant water which also reflects a blue shade into the air. The haiku reads: Hydrangeas! They do not bloom in water, Yet they seem to hold it. Ajisai ya / mizu ni sakanedo / mizu kusashi The earliest impressions of this print, issued by the publisher Jakurindo (Wakasaya Yoichi), are printed with yellow shading in the leaves and in the sky (ten-bokashi).ProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

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