Warbler on Plum Branch

Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Publisher:: Doi Sadaichi
Edition:: Published by Watanabe Shozaburo

Source:

Typical Price

Koitsu's daytime landscapes and non-nocturnal scenes are less common on the primary market but still reflect his mastery of atmosphere and color. Values have risen steadily over the past decade.

Later/posthumous printings: $300–$1,000
Lifetime editions, good condition: $1,000–$3,000
Rare subjects or first editions: $3,000–$6,000

Description

This [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print by Tsuchiya Koitsu depicts a warbler perched on a plum branch, one of the most time-honored subjects in Japanese art. The uguisu, or Japanese bush warbler, and the ume plum blossom together announce the arrival of spring. Their pairing appears in poetry, painting, and decorative arts stretching back to the Heian period. Koitsu renders the small olive-brown bird among delicate blossoms with the precise observation of a naturalist and the compositional instinct of an artist trained in the Japanese landscape tradition. The plum branch provides a strong diagonal line against which the tiny warbler creates a focal point, while scattered blossoms fill the surrounding space with the promise of the season's warmth. The print connects Koitsu's [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) practice to the [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e) tradition of bird-and-flower imagery.