Ox (Ushi), from the series "Twelve Hours of the Floating World (Ukiyo juni shi)"
c. 1780/1801
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
25.8 × 18.9 cm (10 1/8 × 7 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
6548
Art Historical Context
Katsukawa Shunchô's *Ox (Ushi)*, from the series *Twelve Hours of the Floating WorldUkiyo jūni shi)*, captures the vibrant spirit of Edo-period Japan around 1780–1801. As a master of ukiyo-e—the "pictures of the floating world"—Shunchô specialized in depicting the transient pleasures of urban life, including courtesans, actors, and nocturnal revelry. This color woodblock print, in the popular oban format (about 25.8 × 18.9 cm), belongs to a series illustrating Japan's traditional 12 zodiac hours, with the Ox (Ushi) representing the quiet pre-dawn hours of 1–3 a.m., often evoking secretive, int...
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...