Untitled

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

1840 · Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper · Asian Art

In Japanese prints, beautiful women are often cast in the roles of famous male heroes, enabling the artist both to create a more attractive image and to give an additional layer of meaning to a seemingly simple subject. Relaxing in a boat, this beauty actually parodies one of the strongmen, Katsusenba Oteiroku, of the Chinese novel of the fourteenth century, The 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, a tale of the revenge of a band of criminals against a corrupt government. Kuniyoshi, influenced by European models, often incorporated Western techniques in prints with nominally foreign themes. As this series relates to a Chinese story, the artist has contrasted the contemporary beauty to a landscape drawn in a foreign style, using Western perspective and stylized scenery (clouds and trees).

Artist

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Date

1840

Medium

Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1921