Unknown, sleeping child
by Kaoru Kawano
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
by Kaoru Kawano
$500–$4,000. Common subjects: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Kawano's early death at 49 limits her output. Her dreamlike figure prints are most sought after.
A small child lies sleeping, their body relaxed into the abandonment of deep rest. Kawano renders the sleeping child with a tenderness and accuracy that only comes from close observation — the particular way a child's hands curl, the weight of a sleeping body settling into stillness. The subject has a long history in Japanese art, from early genre painting through the [sosaku-hanga](/glossary/sosaku-hanga) movement, where sleep provided artists with the opportunity to depict a figure stripped of self-consciousness, purely themselves.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Unknown, sleeping child was created by Kaoru Kawano (川野薫).
Unknown, sleeping child depicts children and daily life.
