![[A whale and three fish sitting down to a formal dinner of Russian sailors] by Kobayashi Kiyochika — Japanese Woodblock print](https://data.ukiyo-e.org/loc/images/01007v.jpg)
[A whale and three fish sitting down to a formal dinner of Russian sailors]
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Library of Congress
- Image courtesy of
- Library of Congress
Description
A dense block of Japanese calligraphy fills a bordered panel across the top of the sheet, with a red title cartouche in the upper right corner. Below, on cream-colored paper, a large black bulbous, hooded or caped form dominates the left side of the composition; at its base a small pale figure lies sprawled face-down, limbs outstretched, wearing a white garment with a red sash, while to the right a rounded pink-red figure with a downturned fish-like mouth and round eye sits upright, hands raised as if eating. The palette is limited to black ink, cream ground, and red-pink accents, giving this Kobayashi Kiyochika woodblock print a flat, grotesque, comic-strip quality.
More Prints by Kobayashi Kiyochika
More Animals Prints
Snake Charmers (Hebizukai)
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
Hoshifuri Pine at Zen'yoji Temple in Edogawa (Edogawa-ku Zen'yoji Hoshifuri matsu), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
Drawing for Rabbit and Boy
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
Rabbit and Boy
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Frequently Asked Questions
[A whale and three fish sitting down to a formal dinner of Russian sailors] was created by Kobayashi Kiyochika (小林清親).
[A whale and three fish sitting down to a formal dinner of Russian sailors] depicts animals.