A Beginner’s Pictorial Encyclopedia of Natural History

1794 (second edition; 1761 original edition)

Not on view

This is a later edition of a crucial drawing manual of the eighteenth century, originally published in 1761. To my knowledge it is extremely hard to find a first edition of this work, and this edition dates precisely to the time when Morikuni impacted the art world most powerfully at the end of the eighteenth century, nearly a half century after his death. An artist such as Katsushika Hokusai drew inspiration for his own prints and visual encyclopedias from Morikuni’s wide-ranging depictions of the world around him. These volumes focus in particular on avian subjects.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

絵本初心柱立
Title: A Beginner’s Pictorial Encyclopedia of Natural History
Artist: Tachibana Morikuni (Japanese, 1679–1748)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 1794 (second edition; 1761 original edition)
Culture: Japan
Medium: Three volumes of woodblock printed books (Japanese-style binding); ink on paper
Dimensions: All 3 volumes together: 10 11/16 × 7 1/16 in. (27.2 × 18 cm)
Classification: Illustrated Books
Credit Line: Gift of Anita V. Beenk, 2016
Object Number: 2016.751.3a–c
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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