Zuigetsu Ikeda

Cataloged under the artist's name rather than a descriptive title, this woodblock print by Ikeda Zuigetsu represents a work whose specific subject was not recorded in the available documentation. Zuigetsu specialized in the kacho-ga tradition of bird-and-flower painting translated into the woodblock print medium. His body of work encompasses chrysanthemums, primroses, orchids, tiger lilies, camellias, and other flowers rendered with technical precision and aesthetic sensitivity. This print, whatever its specific subject, belongs to that sustained investigation of natural beauty through the discipline of carving and printing. The kacho-ga genre requires artists to balance scientific accuracy with artistic expression, a dual demand that Zuigetsu meets through careful observation followed by the selective simplification that woodblock printing imposes.