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UTAGAWA KUNISADA. Artisans, from the series "An Up-to-Date Parody of the Four Classes"

Artisans, from the series "An Up-to-Date Parody of the Four Classes". Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786-1865). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Each 10 x 14 1/2 in. (25.4 x 36.8 cm). Date: 19th century.
To represent artisans, one of the four classes (warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants) of the Edo period, Kunisada replaced the men more typical of the theme with pretty women and illustrated the interior of a woodblock printer's atelier. The woman at a table at the right is incising fine lines into a woodblock through a sheet of paper bearing an artist's painted design. In the center near the window, another woman is using a gouge and mallet to remove unwanted wood from another block. The woman in the center foreground is applying sizing to a sheet of paper. At the left, in front of a printing alcove, a female printer is waiting for these preparations to be completed.

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Author: UTAGAWA KUNISADA (1786-1865)

Title: Artisans, from the series "An Up-to-Date Parody of the Four Classes"

Caption: Artisans, from the series "An Up-to-Date Parody of the Four Classes". Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Japanese, 1786-1865). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Each 10 x 14 1/2 in. (25.4 x 36.8 cm). Date: 19th century. To represent artisans, one of the four classes (warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants) of the Edo period, Kunisada replaced the men more typical of the theme with pretty women and illustrated the interior of a woodblock printer's atelier. The woman at a table at the right is incising fine lines into a woodblock through a sheet of paper bearing an artist's painted design. In the center near the window, another woman is using a gouge and mallet to remove unwanted wood from another block. The woman in the center foreground is applying sizing to a sheet of paper. At the left, in front of a printing alcove, a female printer is waiting for these preparations to be completed.

Technique/material: Triptych of polychrome woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Period: Edo period (1615-1868)

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit: Album

Image size: 4718 × 2273 px | 30.7 MB

Print size: 39.9 × 19.2 cm | 1857.5 × 894.9 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: ASIA • ASIAN ART • EDO PERIOD (1615-1868) • INK • JAPAN • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • PAPER • PRINTING BLOCKS • PRINTS • RELIEF PRINTS • TRIPTYCH OF POLYCHROME WOODBLOCK PRINTS; INK AND COLOR ON PAPER • TRIPTYCHS • UTAGAWA KUNISADA • WOOD BLOCKS • WOODBLOCK PRINTS