Basket of Peonies
1810
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Katsushika Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai spent his life in Edo, now Tokyo, where he drew and carved prints for a living.
See the richer artist page1810
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Basket of Peonies is a 1810 by Katsushika Hokusai, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a lush bunch of peonies in a woven basket. The petals look thick and real. Pink and white blooms spill out toward us. The background is dark and plain. It’s a surimono—a fancy print made for a special event. The actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII loved peonies, and this print honored him. Peonies here mean summer in Japan. Look up Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849) to see more of his work.
A surimono is a privately commissioned print used to announce or commemorate a special event. This picture celebrates an event in the life of the actor Ichikawa Danjuro VII, whose emblem was the peony. According to Japanese tradition, the peony–one of the flowers of the four seasons–is the flower of summer.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Katsushika Hokusai spent his life in Edo, now Tokyo, where he drew and carved prints for a living.
See the richer artist page
