Bird at flowering bean plant 1900 - 1930

This woodblock print shows a bird at a flowering bean plant, and was made by Ohara Koson, sometime between 1877 and 1945. The soft colour palette, dominated by muted greens and creams, gives the image a dreamy, almost ethereal quality. It's all about capturing a fleeting moment, like a visual haiku. Looking closely, the texture is so subtle, it’s almost as if the image has been breathed onto the paper. The lines are clean and precise, but with a delicate touch. Note the way Koson renders the leaves, each one distinct, with its own character, but also part of a larger, interconnected system. The single, curling tendril that reaches across the pale ground towards the bird is so simple, but it adds a sense of movement and connection. Koson's work reminds me a little of Abbot Thayer, with its focus on natural forms, but with an added layer of Japanese aesthetic sensibility. It’s not just about depicting the bird and the plant, but about evoking a feeling, an atmosphere. It’s a reminder that art is not just about what we see, but how we see it.