(all artworks are sold without the "Calliope's Bucket" stamp)

Kawanabe Kyōsai (河鍋 暁斎, May 18, 1831 – April 26, 1889) was in the words of a critic, "an individualist and an independent, perhaps the last virtuoso in traditional Japanese painting".
Living through the transition from the Edo period to the Meiji period, Kyōsai witnessed Japan transform from a feudal country into a modern state. Born at Koga, he was the son of a samurai. After working for a short time as a boy with Utagawa Kuniyoshi, he received his artistic training in the Kanō school, but soon abandoned formal traditions for the greater freedom of the popular school. During the political ferment which produced and followed the revolution of 1867, Kyōsai attained a reputation as a caricaturist. His very long painting on makimono "The battle of the farts" may be seen as a caricature of this ferment. He was arrested three times and imprisoned by the authorities of the shogunate. Soon after the assumption of effective power by the Emperor, a great congress of painters and men of letters was held at which Kyōsai was present. He again expressed his opinion of the new movement in a caricature, which had a great popular success, but also brought him into the hands of the police this time of the opposite party. In addition to his caricatures, Kyōsai painted a large number of pictures and sketches, often choosing subjects from Japanese folklore, Nô drama, nature and religion.


Bake Neko - 化け猫
Cat monster - 1870


Approximate image sizes:

9" x 13" fine art paper - image size 10" x 6.9"
11" x 14" fine art paper - image size 12" x 8.4"
13" x 19" fine art paper - image size 16" x 11"