Pug Dog
by Ohara Koson
- Date:
- c. 1928–1930
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 33 × 24 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
by Ohara Koson
Koson's vast output of ~450 designs spans birds, flowers, fish, insects, and occasional landscapes. While his large production keeps most prints accessible, early Kokkeido-period impressions with muted, elegant Meiji-era coloring are distinctly more sought after than the brighter later Watanabe editions.
A pug dog — compact, wrinkled, with the characteristic pushed-in face and curled tail — rendered with the same attentive naturalism Koson applied to birds and fish. Dogs appear rarely in his catalog compared to wild species, and a pug in particular represents a departure into the domestic and the somewhat comically formed. The print belongs to a group of animal subjects from around 1928–1930 in which he ranged beyond his core ornithological subjects to explore a wider zoological range.
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.
Pug Dog was created by Ohara Koson (小原古邨) in c. 1928–1930.
Pug Dog was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (c. 1928–1930).
Pug Dog depicts animals.
Pug Dog measures 33 × 24 cm (Oban format).
