Kuniyasu
Japanese (1794 - 1832) Primary

Central and Left Panel from a Triptych; Empress Jingu Leading the Invasion of Korea on Horseback

Edo
Likely 1800 - 1832

Greatest Dimensions
14 5/8 x 10 1/2 in. (37.148 x 26.67 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• Edo - Refers to the period and style that developed from the unification of Japan in 1600 until the end of the shogunal dynasty in 1868. During this period, economic expansion encouraged the rise of an educated merchant class who created their own forms of literature and theater as well as new schools of painting and woodblock printing. A wide diversity of pictorial subjects and styles developed during this period and many 19th century Western artists were influenced by them.
• empresses - Refers to female sovereigns of empires, which are political units that comprise a number of territories or nations and are ruled by a single supreme authority. The term may also refer to the wives and widows of emperors.
• Equus caballus - Hooved animal. Original populations of Equus caballus were once found in the steppe zone from Poland to Mongolia. Now domesticated, horses occur throughout the world and in feral populations in some areas. Three of the several early breeds of horse - Przewalski's horse from central Asia, the tarpan from eastern Europe and the Ukrainian steppes, and the forest horse of northern Europe - are generally thought to have been the ancestral stock of modern domestic horses. According to this line of thinking, Przewalski's horse and the tarpan formed the basic breeding stock from which the southerly 'warm-blooded' horses developed, while the forest horse gave rise to the heavy, 'cold-blooded' breeds. All modern breeds are divided as light, fast, spirited breeds typified by the modern Arabian, heavier, slower, and calmer working breeds typified by the Belgian, and intermediate breeds typified by the Thoroughbred. They are also classified according to where they originated (e.g., Percheron, Clydesdale, and Arabian), by the principal use of the horse (riding, draft, coach horse), and by their outward appearance and size (light, heavy, pony).
• nishiki-e - Japanese prints in which numerous blocks are used to print many colors.
• oban - Japanese prints of a standard size about 15 3/4 by 10 1/2 inches.
• triptychs - Paintings or carvings consisting of or mounted on three attached panels, often hinged so that the outer wings fold over the central portion; a common form for altarpieces. Also used for other works having three related images side by side.
• 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.
• Utagawa, Kuniyasu, 1794-1832 - Sources:
  - Takizawa, B. Keisei Suikoden, 1986:
  - D. Jinmei j., 1953:
• 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.