Heron and moon 1910 - 1930

Ohara Koson created this woodblock print, “Heron and Moon,” sometime in the early 20th century. It depicts a heron in flight against a pale moon, with reeds in the lower portion of the image. Prints like this one, with their simplified naturalism, were designed for export to the West. By the late 19th century, Japonisme was highly fashionable in Europe and North America and there was a considerable market for images that evoked the essence of Japanese aesthetics for a foreign audience. Koson’s prints, therefore, exist at the intersection of Japanese artistic tradition and Western consumerism. The image relies on established visual codes, such as the heron as a symbol of longevity, but its abstraction is geared toward Western tastes. The social history of art teaches us to look closely at the conditions in which art is produced and consumed and, through resources like trade records and exhibition histories, we can learn more about the relationship between art and commerce.