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Image of Needlework

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Bookmark: http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/162983



Kitagawa Utamaro
Japanese (1753 - 1806) Primary



Needlework

Reproduction of uncertain date, after original of c.1794-1795
Color woodblock
State: Reproduction

15 3/4 in. x 10 1/2 in. (40.01 cm x 26.67 cm)

Bryn Mawr College
Accession Number: X.1106
Geography: Asia, Japan
Classification: Fine and Visual Arts; Prints; Woodcuts
Culture/Nationality: Japanese
Description: This print, part of a triptych that shows several women engaged in needlework, highlights the innovation and style of celebrated woodblock print artist Kitagawa Utamaro. The artist's originality is shown through the representation of the sheer cloth, an effect he developed by attaching textured gauze or grains of sand to the woodblock instead of carving it (nunomezuri). His style is revealed by the sensitive depiction of mother and child and the idealized faces and forms of the pair.

Utamaro was one of the ukiyo-e artists who were most famous outside Japan. His "pictures of the floating world" (representations of the lifestyle and entertainment of the emerging middle class) served as inspiration to such artists as Cassatt, Manet, and Degas.

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
This object has the following keywords:
  • Asian - Refers to the cultures of the continent of Asia, which is in the eastern hemisphere, and is bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, and is generally considered to be delimited on the west by the Ural Mountains. It also refers to the numerous islands off the coast of Asia.
  • bijinga - Paintings or prints that depict beautiful women. This term, which literally means "pictures of beautiful women," was most likely coined in the Edo period (1615-1868) or the Meiji period (1868-1912). Before this period, these pictures may have been called "onna-e" or "bijin-e".
  • children - People in the earliest developmental stage of life.
  • color - Refers to pigment in a medium, such as ink, water, or oil. A common example is in referring to the media of Asian art (e.g., "ink and color on paper").
  • color woodcuts - Woodcuts that incorporate color, usually through combining a series of blocks in precise registration that have been inked with individual hues and pressed onto one support.
  • Japanese - Nationality, periods, cultures, and styles found in Japan, either in historical times or in the present.
  • Ukiyo-e - Distinctive genre in painting and other media, but most prominently in woodblock printing. It arose in the Edo period (1600-1868) and built up a broad popular market among the middle classes. Subject matter typically focused on brothel districts and kabuki theatres, with formats ranging from single sheet prints to book illustrations. Generally, the style is characterized by a mixture of the realistic narrative of the Kamakura period and the mature decorative style of the Momoyama and Edo periods. Distinctive styles and specialties in subject matter were developed by different schools throughout the period.
  • women - Refers to female human beings from young adulthood through old age.
  • woodcuts - Prints made using the process of woodcut, which is a relief process in which the design is cut into and printed from the plank side of a wood block; distinct from "wood engraving (process)," which is a relief process using the grain end of a wood block.

Additional Images Click an image to view a larger version
Additional Image X.1106_BMC_f_4.jpg
X.1106_BMC_f_4.jpg

Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
  • Beneath the Printed Pattern: Display and Disguise in Ukiyo-e Bijinga Bryn Mawr College , Sep 25, 2013 – Dec 20, 2013
  • Worlds to Discover: 125 Years of Collections at Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College , Sep 24, 2010 – May 28, 2011

Portfolio List Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios:

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=BMC>cite web |url=http://triarte.brynmawr.edu/objects-1/info/162983 |title=Needlework |author=Bryn Mawr College Library Special Collections |accessdate=6/7/2023 |publisher=Bryn Mawr College</ref>

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