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Artwork of the Week

Artwork of the Week: Anonymous Japanese Print

Anonymous Japanese Print
Anonymous-Asia, 'Cat Catches Bird,' no date, woodcut, 8 x 5 11/16 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, 1993.

The cat depicted in this anonymous Japanese print has been causing its owner trouble—this is clearly not their first catch. This skilled hunter has avoided detection despite being fitted with a bell that was clearly intended to alert any potential prey. The pinned down bird cries out in alarm as the cat hungrily inspects the upcoming meal. The ferocity of the cat is emphasized by the way their body coils up along the right side of the print, towering like a giant over their diminutive quarry.

While we don’t know who the artist was that created this work, it comes out of the Japanese Ukiyo-e print tradition. Like other prints from more well-known Ukiyo-e series such as Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji or Hiroshige’s Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, this work channels the grand scale of the human experience through scenes that highlight the vast variety of mundanities in daily life.

Past Artworks of the Week

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Artwork of the Week: Fall Games—The Apple Bee

November 27, 2023
Mahonri Young’s drawing invites the viewer to experience this fall day alongside the farmer plowing the field.
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Artwork of the Week: Fall Flowers

November 20, 2023
Mahonri Young’s drawing invites the viewer to experience this fall day alongside the farmer plowing the field.
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Artwork of the Week: En Bateau (The Boat Ride)

November 13, 2023
Mahonri Young’s drawing invites the viewer to experience this fall day alongside the farmer plowing the field.
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