Paul Binnie

Scottish, b. 1967

A Hundred Shades of Ink of Edo: Kuniyoshi's Cats
(Edo zumi hyaku shoku: Kuniyoshi no neko)

the series title cartouche in the upper right margin, the print title to the left with the first portion, Kuniyoshi no neko, in the style of Kuniyoshi's signature, and cat grooming itself representing the neko, signed in gold kanji, Bin-ni, with artist's cat-shaped seal that forms the letters Binnie, numbered and signed in pencil on the bottom margin, 29/100, Paul Binnie, ca. May - June 2004

oban tate-e 16 7/8 by 11 3/8 in., 43 by 29 cm

In addition to being one of the leading artists of warrior subjects, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) is fondly remembered for his depictions of cats, and in this first design of the series Binnie chose to commemorate that Edo-period artist's love of felines. Drawing from Kuniyoshi's ca. 1849 composition Cat's Suggested as the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road, a triptych which depicts fifty-three cats (or groups of cats) each representing a station of the famous Edo Period highway that connected Edo and Kyoto, the figure's back tattoo contains upwards of eighteen cats in different postures.

Reference:
Paul Binnie: A Dialogue with the Past - The First 100 Japanese Prints, 2007, p. 116, no. 79

price: Sold