Sleeping Cat
- Date:
- 19th century
- Medium:
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper with embossing and sunago
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 23.8 × 24.1 cm
A sleeping cat rendered with an almost impossible softness, its body a warm comma of fur arranged in the universal feline posture of complete self-abandonment to sleep. The [nishiki-e](/glossary/nishiki-e) technique is enriched here with embossing and sunago (sprinkled metallic powder), giving the composition a tactile luxury entirely suited to its subject. Kyosai loved animals and returned to cats repeatedly — his sleeping cats are among the most tender images in his work, stripped of the comic or satirical edge that marks so much of what he made.
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Sleeping Cat was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎) in 19th century.
Sleeping Cat depicts animals and cats.
Sleeping Cat measures 23.8 × 24.1 cm (Oban format).