Artwork preview

Cuttle Fish

Kikuchi Yōsai

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A cuttlefish drawn in a Japanese painting style with a wash of light brown color on a beige background. The cuttlefish, on the bottom half of the painting, faces left with its tentacles stretched out in front of it. Its body texture is created by black speckles. There are two small dark bulges behind the fish near the top and two green plant-like shapes to the lower right. On the left side are several vertical columns of Japanese writing in black ink. A vertical column of Japanese writing is on the right side. A light brown border surrounds the painting.

Artwork Details

Date
early 19th century
Medium
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Culture
Japan
Dimensions
599 × 470 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette