New Year's Games
Original title: New Year's Games, from the printed book Flowers of the Four Seasons (Shiki no hana)
kurzbeschreibung
Four women in traditional kimono enjoy themselves in a garden with bamboo and plants; behind them a wooden veranda and a house can be seen. Kitagawa Utamaro created this print in 1801 as a color woodblock print on paper.
Description
Two women stand in the left foreground, one kneels on the wooden veranda to the right, and another sits beside her. The kimono carry patterns in red, blue, and earth tones; one woman holds a fan, another a book. Bamboo and plants structure the garden, and behind them a house and a row of windows become visible. Daylight highlights the details of clothing and surroundings.
Context
This print belongs to the illustrated book 'Shiki no hana' (Flowers of the Four Seasons), published in Edo, present-day Tokyo, in 1801. Utamaro was among the leading masters of ukiyo-e and devoted himself mainly to depicting women. New Year games were a common motif for portraying the changing seasons and festive activities of the Edo period. The book was aimed at a wealthy urban audience that valued such prints as collectibles.
Impact
A calm, festive mood emanates from the print, carried by the natural light and the relaxed postures of the women. Clear lines and restrained colors combine into a harmonious, elegant overall image, characteristic of Utamaro's style.
Technique
Printing was done with ink and color on paper, as was usual in ukiyo-e. A separate woodblock was used for each color; only their interplay produced the precise lines and flat areas of color, which demanded a high degree of craftsmanship. At 17.5 x 25.1 cm, the format corresponds to the book illustrations of that time.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)