Hunting hawk 1900 - 1910

This woodblock print, Hunting Hawk, was created by Ohara Koson sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. Look at the hawk diving head first towards it's prey. You can feel the motion and the speed in the diagonal lines and the bird's wings that are outstretched. The textures here are so delicate; you can almost feel the softness of the hawk's feathers. The limited color palette, mostly greys and whites, gives the print a subtle, almost ethereal quality. See how the artist uses tiny lines to create the illusion of texture? The details in the feathers are so finely rendered they seem to vibrate on the page. Koson's work has a real kinship with the earlier prints of Hokusai, who similarly captured the wonder of the natural world, proving that art is really just an ongoing conversation.