Kingfisher with Iris and Pinks

Catalog note / 解説

Tall stems of irises, with their long leaves, rise above a dense cluster of pinks (dianthus) below. Using a favorite pairing of bird and flower, Hokusai creates a bold design. The bird's long, strong bill echoes the shape of the snakelike leaves, and the colors of the flowers repeat in the kingfisher's blue wings. The red of the dianthus is picked up in the bird's face and the graded tembokashi of the background. This pairing of bird and flowers has a well-calculated compositonal intent. Hiroshige depicted a kingfisher with hydrangeas where the bird's blue plumage is picked up in the hydrageas' blue petals. (Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, “Hokusai and Hiroshige”, 1998)