Out for a Walk
c. 1780/1801
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
38.3 × 26.2 cm (15 1/8 × 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22812
Art Historical Context
"Out for a Walk" is a captivating color woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunchô a prominent Japanese artist active during the late Edo period (c. 1780–1801). 38.3 × 26.2 cm in the popular oban format, this work belongs to the ukiyo-e tradition—"pictures of the floating worldwhich celebrated the fleeting pleasures of urban life in Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Shunchô, a student of the renowned Katsukawa Shunshō, specialized in bijin-ga (images of beautiful women) and yakusha-e (actor portraits), blending delicate elegance with vibrant storytelling. Created through the intricate process of woodblock pr...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunchô · 1780–1801
Katsukawa Shunchō was a Japanese designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints active from approximately 1780 to 1795, one of the most graceful practitioners of the art of bijinga — pictures of beautiful women. He trained in the studio of Katsukawa Shunshō, the founding master of the Katsukawa School, whose pupils also included the young Hokusai. Shunshō's school was primarily known for realistic portraits...