浮世画譜|Picture Album of the Floating World (Ukiyo efu 浮世画譜)
ca. 1820s
Medium
Set of three woodblock printed books; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
each: 9 1/16 × 6 1/4 in. (23 × 15.9 cm)
Classification
Illustrated Books
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013
Accession Number
2013.675a–c
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan *Picture Album of the Floating (Ukiyo efu)* by Keisai Eisen, around the 1820s. This enchanting set of three woodblock books captures the essence of ukiyo, the "pictures of the floating world" that celebrated fleeting pleasures like urban life, beauty, and nature. Eisen a master of this style, was renowned for his delicate depictions of women (bijin-ga) and everyday scenes, blending sensuality with poetic observation during Japan's isolated yet culturally explosive Tokugawa era. Crafted with ink and color on paper, each compact volume measures ju...
About the Artist
Keisai Eisen 渓斎英泉 (Japanese) · 1790 –1848
Japanese, 1790–1848