The artwork, titled “Mother Love,” was created by Kiyoshi Saito in 1964 and is associated with the Sōsaku hanga art movement. This piece falls within the genre of animal painting.
The artwork portrays a tender and intimate moment between a mother cat and her kitten. Rendered in a stylized and minimalistic manner characteristic of the Sōsaku hanga movement, the mother cat is depicted reclining, her body forming a protective arch around the smaller figure of her kitten. The use of contrasting dark and light tones and the textured background amplifies the simplicity and emotional resonance of the scene. The mother cat’s body is adorned with abstract patches of color, while the kitten is rendered in a silhouette form, emphasizing their close bond and the protective nature of maternal love. The composition is serene and evocative, inviting the viewer to contemplate the universal theme of nurture and care.
