Plum Blossom and Magpie, 19th Century
Ume ni onagadori. Plum blossom and magpie (long tailed cock onagadori). Magpies are birds of the Corvidae (crow) family, including the black and white Eurasian magpie, which is widely considered one of the most intelligent animals in the world, and one of the only nonmammal species able to recognize itself in a mirror test. Ukiyo-e (picture of the floating world) is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Ukiyo-e was central to forming the West's perception of Japanese art in the late 19th century. The landscape genre has come to dominate Western perceptions of ukiyo-e, though ukiyo-e had a long history preceding these late-era masters. The Japanese landscape differed from the Western tradition in that it relied more heavily on imagination, composition, and atmosphere than on strict observance of nature. Utagawa Hiroshige, circa 1830-58
