絵本百千鳥 2
Ehon picture book of birds, compiled by Akamatsu Kinkei and illustrated by Kitagawa Utamaro, probably Edo-period Japan, printed for a popular audience. The pictures show birds in naturalistic colour, perched on branches or feeding on the ground among fallen leaves and grasses, with calligraphic poems beside them. A designer could take the economical washes, the pale ground, and the pairing of small birds with sparse foliage as a model for quiet natural compositions.
