Cat with Bell
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
Shotei produced a wide range of subjects throughout his career under publishers Watanabe and Daikokuya. Signed, sealed lifetime editions consistently outperform unsigned export-market copies.
A cat wearing a decorative bell collar sits in a composed, alert posture — the bell a mark of domestication that placed this cat in a well-kept household. Shotei's [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e) sensibility applied to cats produced some of his most appealing work outside the landscape tradition, the animals rendered with precise observation of posture and the subtle expression of feline watchfulness. The decorative bell, jangling with movement but silent in the still print, marks the space between the wild predator and the beloved household companion.
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.
Cat with Bell was created by Takahashi Shotei (高橋松亭).
Cat with Bell was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Cat with Bell depicts animals and cats.
