Lapwing on tree stump 1900 - 1930

This woodblock print of a lapwing on a tree stump was made by Ohara Koson sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. The piece utilizes muted colors and soft textures, and strikes me as something that could easily feel sentimental, but it just doesn’t. The lapwing, perched delicately on the stump, has its head tilted in such a way that its face almost seems to be turning away. Koson doesn’t let this get too saccharine, and I think the somewhat dry rendering of the bird's feathers, and the roughness of the block-printed textures keep this feeling at bay. The bird, though highly representational, seems like an exploration of shapes, light, and dark. And in the same way that Morandi’s still life paintings of bottles or pots aren’t really about the objects themselves, this feels like Koson using an image of a bird to try and capture something more abstract.