I was just reading through a book about the art influences on Vincent van Gogh and I'm absolutely delighted to find this print by Utagawa Yoshimaru 二代歌川芳丸, which is FULL of bugs, was part of his collection. www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collectio...#虫

That print is just FULL of lil dudes

Interesting. He was an intriguing fellow for sure.

WAIT! i think the Totoro team has seen this print or similar!

iirc, van Gogh's brief career coincided with the Japonisme movement in Europe! It's pretty cool that he took inspiration from these kinds of prints, considering that animals weren't a regular part of his oeuvre.