Artwork
Grosbeak and Clematis
Grosbeak and Clematis is a print by the Romanticist artist Utagawa Hiroshige. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1834 by Utagawa Hiroshige, a prominent ukiyo‑e practitioner of the Edo period, this small print depicts a grosbeak settled amid blooming clematis. The composition balances a single bird with a branch of purple‑flowered vines, set against a muted green backdrop, inviting close inspection of its fine details.
Subject & Meaning
The image focuses on a thick‑billed bird with white, gray and reddish facial tones, perched tranquilly on a flowering stem. The clematis, rendered in purple with a yellow centre, frames the bird, emphasizing a quiet encounter between avian life and plant form, a theme Hiroshige explored beyond the urban scenes typical of ukiyo‑e.
Technique & Style
Hiroshige employs the characteristic ukiyo‑e approach of clean, decisive lines and flat, unmodulated colour areas. The print’s limited palette and simplified background enhance the crisp silhouette of the bird and the stylised blossoms, reflecting the artist’s skill in rendering natural subjects with graphic clarity.
History & Provenance
The work belongs to the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. It entered the museum’s holdings as part of its broader acquisition of Edo‑period Japanese prints, illustrating the museum’s commitment to representing the diversity of Hiroshige’s output beyond his famous landscape series.
Artist & collection
Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重) or Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重), born Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
