Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Women Processing Woodblock Prints |
Artist |
KUNISADA, Utagawa |
Date |
August, 1857 |
Object Name |
|
Other Name |
Woodblock |
Culture |
Japanese |
Medium |
Woodblock Print |
Dimensions |
H-15 W-30 inches |
Description |
The caste system in Japan was highly regulated and movement from one class to another was close to impossible. At the top were the military rulers represented by the shogun and samurai who were seen as natural rulers and served as the head of the political body. Farmers supported the society by providing food and materials needed by all. Craftsman, such as artists, modified and added value to the materials provided by the farmers. At the bottom of the social hierarchy were merchants who merely profited from the work of others. Here Kunisada has made fun of the established traditions in Japanese society. He has captured the sense of a busy workshop by presenting elegantly dressed women running an artistic studio. They sort paper, relax with a pipe, prepare paper to receive a print, carve out the woodblock, sharpen tools and transfer a design on to a piece of wood. While women probably performed the more menial tasks involved with printmaking, such as making paper, drying the prints, and mixing colors, they would not have designed or cut out the wood block prints. |
Publisher's Seal |
Gyo Yei (Sakanaya Yeikichi) |
Censor's Seal |
None |
Credit line |
Raymond A. Bidwell Collection |
Accession # |
60.D05.1385 |
Object ID |
DMFA-60.D05.1385 |
Collection |
Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts |