Recital on a verandah overlooking Sumida River
c. 1790/95
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban pentaptych
Dimensions
Each sheet approx: 38.7 × 25.4 cm (15 1/4 × 10 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22066
Art Historical Context
"Recital on a Verandah Overlooking Sumida River" is a captivating color woodblock print by Utagawa Toyok I, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition, created around 1790–95. This oban pentaptych— joined sheets forming a panoramic vista—measures about 38.7 × 25.4 cm per sheet, immersing viewers in a lively Edo-period scene. Toyokuni, founder of the influential Utagawa school, here in depicting elegant figures on a spacious verandah, likely performers and spectators gathered for a musical recital with shamisen or song, framed by the serene flow of Tokyo's iconic Sumida River below. The print's histori...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni I · 1777–1835
Japanese, 1777–1835