Sharing an Umbrella - A Set of Three (Aigasa sanpukutsui)
c. 1755
Medium
Color woodblock print; uncut hosoban triptych, benizuri-e
Dimensions
29.9 × 42.6 cm (11 3/4 × 16 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19773
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo Japan, Ishikawa Toyonobu *Sharing an Umbrella - A Set of (Aigasa sanpukutsui)*, created around 1755, captures the playful intimacy of urban life. Toyonobu, a prominent ukiyo-e artist pupil of Nishimura Shaga, specialized in depictions of the "floating world"—scenes of romance, theater, and fleeting pleasures. This uncut hosoban triptych portrays lovers huddled under a shared umbrella, a motif symbolizing tender courtship amid rainy streets, evoking the poetic transience cherished in Japanese culture. Printed as a benizuri-e, or "rose-colored picture," ...
About the Artist
Ishikawa Toyonobu · 1711–1785
Japanese, 1711–1785