Last page of the Book of Shells
Original title: Last page of the Book of Shells
kurzbeschreibung
Dating from 1790, this closing page from a shell album by Kitagawa Utamaro presents a printed book page with Japanese characters, accompanied by drawn shells. Ink and colour were applied to paper for this sheet.
Description
An open book page lies before us, with Japanese characters arranged in two columns. On the left are simple line drawings of shells. Grey tones dominate, with occasional touches of colour. At the edge of the sheet is a seal that refers to the artist or the publisher.
Context
Utamaro was one of the defining masters of ukiyo-e in eighteenth-century Japan. This sheet belongs to a book or album devoted to shells. Such works stand in the tradition of natural history and the collecting passion of the Edo period.
Impact
Calligraphic characters and delicate shell lines give the sheet a quiet, investigative character. Restrained colours and a clear layout create a precise, elegant impression.
Technique
Woodblock printing was used for this work: ink and colour were transferred to paper. The characters and shell outlines were first transferred to the woodblock before the multi-colour printing took place.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)