Viewing Ikebana
c.1802
Medium
Color woodblock print; aiban
Dimensions
38.5 × 24.8 cm (15 1/8 × 9 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
24421
Art Historical Context
"Viewing Ikebana," around 1802 by Utagawa Toyohiro, captures a serene moment of aesthetic appreciation in Japan's Edo period. Toyohiro, a master the Utagawa school and mentor to the famed Hiroshige, specialized in ukiyo-e—color woodblock prints depicting the "floating world" of everyday, theater, and nature This aiban-format print measuring 38.5 × .8 cm, showcases figures contemplating an ikebana arrangement, highlighting the refined pastime of floral artistry that symbolized harmony and transience. Ikebana, Japan's traditional art of flower arranging, emerged from Buddhist rituals and evolve...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyohiro · 1763–1828
Utagawa Toyohiro (1763–1828) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist and painter who founded a major branch of the Utagawa school and is best remembered as the teacher of Utagawa Hiroshige, one of the greatest landscape print designers in Japanese art history. Born in Edo (present-day Tokyo), he studied under Utagawa Toyoharu, the founder of the Utagawa school, who was noted for introducing Western perspect...