Chrysanthemums and Horsefly
Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1833–34
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 10 x 8 in, Wrong shape: a 14% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyA dense bank of chrysanthemums fills the sheet edge to edge, and one horsefly hangs above the blossoms on blurred wings. Chrysanthemums are the flower of emperors and poets; Hokusai gives their audience to a fly. The grandeur and the joke share one sheet. The fly's wings are cut as near-transparency — the sheet's least noble creature given its finest carving. "The flower does not choose its visitor."
- Maker
- Katsushika Hokusai
- Date
- c. 1833–34
- Medium of the original
- Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Rights
- Cleared for print
- Catalogue number
- PA-00375
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 10 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 12 x 8 in | 140 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 14 x 11 in | Wrong shape: a 13% crop |
| 16 x 12 in | 96 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 12 in | 93 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 20 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 24 x 16 in | 70 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 18 in | 64 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 20 in | 56 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 36 x 24 in | 46 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 40 x 30 in | 38 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 48 x 36 in | 32 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 60 x 40 in | 28 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,686 x 1,159 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 97, lights 208 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 9.83
The Floating World
Japanese woodblock prints, from ukiyo-e to Yoshitoshi, Goyō, Hasui and Yoshida.
All 64 pieces from The Floating World
