White Cat with a Red Collar – Takahashi Shōtei (1924)

A white cat, a red collar, a black night: nothing else is needed. In this 1924 print, Takahashi Shōtei portrays a white cat lying with its paws tucked under its body, in the pose every cat owner knows. Around its neck, a red ruffled collar dotted with tiny white circles, in the style of kanoko tie-dye, is knotted with a little bow. Its amber eyes gaze calmly to the side, and soft pink touches colour its ears, the top of its head and the tip of its tail.

Shōtei sets the cat against a deep, flat black, which makes its fur glow almost like porcelain. Every hair is drawn with fine lines, and the contrast between the white, the black and the vivid red gives the composition a graphic power that feels astonishingly modern. At the top left, a dated inscription and the artist’s seal complete the balance of the image.

Takahashi Shōtei, a pioneer of shin-hanga

Takahashi Shōtei (1871-1945), also known as Hiroaki, was one of the very first artists to work with the publisher Watanabe Shōzaburō, who launched the shin-hanga (“new prints”) movement in the early 20th century. Known for his landscapes and his birds and flowers, he brought to the cat the same delicacy and the same feeling for light that made the reputation of Kawase Hasui and Ohara Koson.

• Artist: Takahashi Shōtei (Hiroaki) (1871-1945)
• Date: June 1924
• Movement: shin-hanga
• Technique: woodblock print
• Format: horizontal
• Theme: white cat, Japanese cat art, minimalism

A minimalist, elegant print for a living room, a bedroom or a modern interior, and a perfect gift for a cat lover. Pair it with Shōtei’s Black Cat Stretching for a black and white duo, and discover more cats with Kuniyoshi’s Cats of the Tōkaidō and Kyōsai’s Cat with a Mouse.