Egrets amid Irises and Grasses

A white egret stands at left, neck arched and beak open, while a second bird bends its head among tall grasses and orange irises at right. The water below is rendered in layered blue bands, and a column of calligraphy runs across the upper right. The print uses restrained color and fine linework typical of Edo-period woodblock prints.

Look closer: A red seal stamp sits in the lower left corner, near the water.

Artist

Utagawa Hiroshige

Date

ca. 1830s–1842

Medium

Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2887 × 3872 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918