Sparrows and Camellia in Snow

Museum record 11039: Sparrows and Camellia in Snow by Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重. A verified entry point for discovery.

What to notice

For Sparrows and Camellia in Snow (record 11039), start with modern, expressive, atmospheric. Compare the focal subject, edge treatment, and atmosphere before moving on.

Discover

Of the two versions of this design in the Art Institute's collection, this image is accepted as the earlier printing of this famous design. The poetry appearing on both impressions has been identified by the scholar Suzuki Juzo as the first two lines of an unsigned Chinese poem entitled “Inquiry of a Stork” by Hakurakuten (772–846). It reads: Crows and storks fight over something to eat and sparrows over where to sleep, You stand there all alone by the pond, the wind blows and snow piles up. MyArtTaste i…