Statue of the Bodhisattva Fugen (Fugenzō)
Original title: Statue of the Bodhisattva Fugen (Fugenzō)普賢像
kurzbeschreibung
A printed book page from Kitagawa Utamaro's woodblock-printed book of 1790, produced in the third month of that year. It shows the title page with a statue of the Bodhisattva Fugen, executed as a color woodblock print with ink on paper.
Description
The sheet is divided into two zones. On the left runs a yellowish-brown strip bearing Chinese characters that form the title 'Fugenzō' (普賢像). To its right lies an almost black area overlaid with a pattern of blossoms in orange and yellow. A small white label in the upper right corner reads 'No.49. FUGENZO. DATE: 1790 BY UTAMARO'. Cracks and discoloration in the paper attest to its age.
Context
This page belongs to a woodblock-printed book by Utamaro that likely gathered a series of Bodhisattva images. It was made during the Edo period, when Japanese color woodblock printing reached its height. The dating to the third month of 1790 comes from the volume's colophon. Title pages of this kind introduced illustrated sutras or other religious works.
Impact
The contrast between the light band of characters and the dark, patterned field gives the page a quiet, gathering presence. The blossoms in warm tones emerge from the black with restraint, lending the sheet a noble, ceremonial character.
Technique
The page was printed as a multicolor woodblock print, in which several color blocks are applied one after another to Japanese paper. The pigments are water-based, as was usual for Edo-period Japanese color woodblock printing. The paper structure and the application of color reveal the traits typical of this process.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)