Owl after Hiroshige

‘Owl (after Hiroshige)’ is a striking conversation between Japanese ukiyo-e and European realism. Michelle Molinari recreates Hiroshige’s delicate composition of a sleeping owl perched on a moonlit branch, juxtaposing it with a meticulously rendered, hyper-realistic owl in the foreground. This juxtaposition highlights two distinct approaches to animal representation—where the ukiyo-e owl exists as an elegant, almost spiritual form, Molinari’s contemporary owl, with its piercing gaze and tethered foot, is bound to reality.