Three Women Dining Before a Group of Trees
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
10 x 14 in. (25.4 x 35.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1949
Accession Number
JP3155
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Utagawa Toyuni I (1769–1825) captured the fleeting pleasures of urban life through his masterful ukiyo-e wood prints. This charming work, *Three Women Dining Before a Group of Trees*, showcases three elegant women enjoying an outdoor meal amid a lush backdrop of trees. Toyokuni, a leading figure in the ukiyo-e tradition—meaning "pictures of the floating world"—led in depicting beautiful women (bijin-ga) anduki actors, blending realism with stylized grace to reflect the era's merchant-class leisure and sophistication. Crafted as a woodblock...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni I · 1777–1835
Japanese, 1777–1835