The Twelfth Month (Goku getsu), from the series "Fashionable Twelve Months (Furyu junikagetsu)"
c. 1793
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
26.4 × 19.4 cm (10 3/8 × 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
24373
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia gallery, where Utagawa Toyokuni's *The Twelfth Month (G getsu)* from the series *Fashionable Twelve MonthsFuryu junikagetsu)* captivates with its vibrant Edo-period charm. Created around 1793, this color woodblock print in the compact chuban format (26.4 × 19.4 cm) ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" that celebrated Japan's urban pleasures—theater, fashion, and fleeting beauty. Toyokuni I, a master the Utagawa school and pioneer in yakusha-e (actor portraits), here turns his eye to bijin-ga, elegant depictions of women. This twe...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni I · 1777–1835
Japanese, 1777–1835