Autumn, from the series Women’s Pleasures of the Four Seasons
Original title: Autumn, from the series Women’s Pleasures of the Four Seasons
kurzbeschreibung
Utagawa Kuniyoshi's triptych Autumn, from the series Women's Pleasures of the Four Seasons, dates to around 1844–46 and presents the lives of Japanese women in three everyday scenes. The woodblock print, executed in ink, silver, and color on paper, brings the pleasures of the season vividly to life.
Description
On the left sheet a woman in a patterned kimono sits in a boat, watching the moon at night. The middle panel has a woman on a roof tossing something into the air, while the right sheet brings a family in a boat into view: a woman with a child and a man beside her. Blues, grays, and browns set the palette; crisp outlines and flat areas of color are true to the woodblock manner.
Context
The series Women's Pleasures of the Four Seasons belongs to the late Edo period, when ukiyo-e prints circulated widely and took up both daily life and landscape. Kuniyoshi was known for the breadth of his subjects, which ranged from historical heroes to elegant women. Portraying women in ordinary situations suited the taste of the urban public in Edo, present-day Tokyo.
Impact
These quiet, familiar scenes give off a calm mood and invite the viewer into the still atmosphere of autumn. Finely detailed figures and atmospheric settings come together into a harmonious whole.
Technique
Three separate woodblocks were used for the triptych, one for each sheet. Printing was done in ink, silver, and color on paper, with silver providing accents such as the moonlight. Bold contours and even fields of color are characteristic of the ukiyo-e process.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)