Early Summer Rain (Samidare no kei), from an Untitled Series of Landscapes

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Early Summer Rain (Samidare no kei), from an Untitled Series of Landscapes

c. 1832

Utagawa Kunisada I (Japanese, 1786–1865) Published by Yamaguchiya Tōbei, Kinkōdō

Utagawa Kunisada is among the most celebrated practitioners of color woodcut in a Japanese genre known as ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world." Artists in this tradition pushed the potential of color printing to new levels, with multiple blocks carved to print each layer of color and a whole team involved in their production. The flatness of the rain that cuts across the surface of this scene belies the more subtle transitions between areas of color that made ukiyo-e images such captivating works.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Early Summer Rain (Samidare no kei), from an Untitled Series of Landscapes

Date:

c. 1832

Artists:

Utagawa Kunisada I (Japanese, 1786–1865) Published by Yamaguchiya Tōbei, Kinkōdō

Medium:

Color woodcut

Dimensions:

Ōban yoko-e: 9 11/16 x 13 5/8 inches (24.6 x 34.6 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., 1946

Accession Number:

1946-51-70

Geography:

Made in Japan, Asia

Context:

Period: Edo Period (1615-1868)

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Currently not on view