Cats
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
Cats were among Saito's most beloved subjects, and he returned to them with the devotion of a naturalist and the eye of a formalist. These undated felines are likely among several cat prints he produced across multiple decades, their bodies reduced to smooth, bold silhouettes that carry an almost ceramic weight. The composition strips away environment to let the cat exist as pure form—the exact same reductive logic he applied to temples and Buddhas, suggesting that for Saito all subjects were ultimately occasions for the same meditation on essential shape.
More Prints by Saito Kiyoshi
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
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cats was created by Saito Kiyoshi (斎藤清).
Cats depicts animals and cats.