Description
Important woodblock print of the monochromatic sumizuri-e (墨摺絵) type, made between 1804 and 1818 by the artist Sawa Sekkyo (沢雪嶠), pupil of the painter of the Kano school (狩野派) Tsutsumi Torin (堤等琳), and depicting a Japanese black bear (ニホンツキノワグマ) cub climbing a tree.
Active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Sekkyo was a not very prolific ukiyo-e (浮世絵) artist and this makes his works rather rare. He devoted himself in particular to the representation of landscapes, including a series of views of the city of Edo (江戸), and to the monochromatic studies of birds and other animals, often printed entirely in black or blue ink.
The precious print on Japanese washi paper (和紙) shows the right and evident signs of aging and small ancient restorations.
