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How to Draw Birds, Insects and Fish Simply (Chōjū ryakugashiki)

Kitao, Masayoshi, 1764-1824 · 1797 · Edo: Suharaya Ichibei 須原屋市兵衛 · 25 pictures

A Japanese woodblock-printed drawing manual by Kitao Masayoshi, published in Edo in 1797 by Suharaya Ichibei to teach amateur artists to sketch birds, insects and fish with a few economical strokes. The pages show ducks, sparrows, swallows, chickens and small songbirds in loose ink lines with pale colour washes, and a designer might borrow their spare, quick gesture and the simplified way each form is reduced to its essential shape.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library