Two Young Attendants on New Year's Day from the series "Seven Women as the Gods of Good Fortune for the Hanagasa Poetry Club (Hanagasaren shichifukujin)"
c. 1820
Medium
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Dimensions
20.5 × 18.1 cm (8 1/16 × 7 1/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
30589
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1603–1868), Katsukawa Shuntei (0–1820) crafted this exquisite color woodblock print around 1820 as part of the series *Seven Women as the Gods of Good for the Hanagasa Club (Hanagasaren shifukujin)*. Shuntei, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition from the Katsukawa school, in graceful depictions of women and theatrical scenes. This *shikishiban surimono*—a, square-format print often privately commissioned for New Year's celebrations or poetry gatherings—measures a intimate 20.5 × 18.1 cm, perfect for personal albums. Titled *Two Young Attendants on New Ye...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shuntei · 1770–1820
Katsukawa Shuntei (1770–1820), originally named Yamaguchi Chōjūrō, was a versatile ukiyo-e printmaker of Japan's Edo period under the Tokugawa shogunate. His early life remains sparsely documented, but by the late 1790s, he had entered the prestigious Katsukawa school, studying under the master Katsukawa Shun'ei, who led the school following the death of founder Shunshō. Shuntei's earliest authent...