Plants and Flower Arrangements by Utagawa Yoshitsuya
10"x8" ($40) | 14"x11" ($85) | 20"x16" ($275) | 24"x20" ($675) | 30"x24" (1,100)
Greetings, collectors! Autumn is just around the corner (Saturday to be exact!), and the days of outdoor summer gardening are waning. ‘Tis the season for potted plants and indoor pruning. But if you’re like us and your green thumb is a little more chartreuse, today’s newest Vintage Edition is for you. Introducing Plants and Flower Arrangements by 19th century Japanese printmaker and illustrator Utagawa Yoshitsuya.
Created around 1845, this ode to herbal arranging is as striking as it is satisfying. This masterpiece of woodblock printing showcases sixty-four petite panels of unique and meticulously rendered potted plants and florals. From delicate bundles of blossoms to artfully trimmed bonsai trees, each flourish of foliage is contained in a distinctive vessel. The bold and punchy color palette lends Plants and Flower Arrangements an almost psychedelic character with starkly contrasting pinks and yellows woven together with deep blue features throughout.
Born 1822 in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, Utagawa Yoshitsuya was a master of ukiyo-e printing and a star student of Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Like Kuniyoshi, Yoshitsuya was renowned for his illustrations of warriors as animals and caricatures to represent political events to avoid censorship. His style was characterized by dynamic figures exhibited with studied realism. With fine, detailed lines, he was able to pack gorgeously elaborate graphics into minute vignettes.
Plants and Flower Arrangements is a greenhouse escape for the soil-averse, garden-challenged, and plant parent pros alike. The vibrant hues radiate a joyful brightness powerful enough to carry you through hibernation season—no growing skills required.
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