“Peony” belongs to Ogawa Kazumasa’s series of Japanese flower studies, made at the turn of the twentieth century. Kazumasa (1860–1929) was a Meiji-era photographer and publisher who brought the collotype process to Japan and used it to record the country’s plants, temples and people. His flower plates treat a single bloom as a subject worthy of close, unhurried attention.
The image is a hand-coloured collotype. The collotype process prints a photograph in continuous tone, free of the dotted screen of commercial printing; artisans then added colour by hand. Here that means white petals warming to pink at their centres, green leaves, and a soft blue-grey ground that sets the flower forward.
The peony has long stood for honour and quiet prosperity in East Asian art, and the picture has a settled, generous feel. It works above a dresser, in a hallway, or in a bedroom, and its gentle colour fits calm, uncluttered rooms.
Choose the peony unframed on heavyweight . . . Read More >>
“Peony” belongs to Ogawa Kazumasa’s series of Japanese flower studies, made at the turn of the twentieth century. Kazumasa (1860–1929) was a Meiji-era photographer and publisher who brought the collotype process to Japan and used it to record the country’s plants, temples and people. His flower plates treat a single bloom as a subject worthy of close, unhurried attention.
The image is a hand-coloured collotype. The collotype process prints a photograph in continuous tone, free of the dotted screen of commercial printing; artisans then added colour by hand. Here that means white petals warming to pink at their centres, green leaves, and a soft blue-grey ground that sets the flower forward.
The peony has long stood for honour and quiet prosperity in East Asian art, and the picture has a settled, generous feel. It works above a dresser, in a hallway, or in a bedroom, and its gentle colour fits calm, uncluttered rooms.
Choose the peony unframed on heavyweight matte paper, framed behind shatter-resistant acrylic glazing, or as a satin-coated cotton canvas. The three formats carry the same image and vary only in finish and weight.
Frequently asked questions
How was this print made?
It is a hand-coloured collotype. Collotype reproduces a photograph in smooth, continuous tone, and the colour was applied afterward by hand — the technique Kazumasa was known for.
What does the image show?
A single peony with white, pink-centred petals and green leaves, placed against a blue-grey ground that keeps the bloom clearly in focus.
What does the peony mean in Japanese art?
The peony is often called the king of flowers and is associated with honour, good fortune and quiet abundance. It recurs throughout East Asian painting and prints.
Which rooms suit this picture?
Its soft palette suits calm spaces — a bedroom, a hallway, a wall above a dresser. It hangs well beside other botanical studies.
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Japan historical period: Meiji 明治 (1868-1912)
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