Utagawa Kuniyoshi

1797-1861

Preparatory Drawing related to right sheet of triptych 'Spring View with Fashionable Women'
(Tosei haru geshiki)

sumi ink drawing with detailed notations for the carver and printer indicating the intended coloration, unsigned, ca. 1829

conserved on archival paper 15 3/4 by 11 in., 40.1 by 27.8 cm

This drawing relates directly to the right-hand sheet of a scarce triptych titled on each sheet, Tosei haru geshiki (Spring View with Fashionable Women, or, An Up-to-date Spring Scene) which was published by Omiya Heihachi in circa 1829. Drawings of this type would have been helpful to keep on hand during the production process, particularly for the printer, to ensure that the artist's intentions were followed. In comparison with the complete triptych published in the Ota Memorial Museum of Art catalogue the coloration of the final print followed the instructions on this drawing, including the distant tree line which is marked sakura (cherry), trusting the printer to deftly handle multiple shades of pink as needed.

References:
Kuniyoshi: 150th Memorial Retrospective: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 2011, p. 164, no. 184 (complete triptych)
(inv. no. 10-2708)

price: $1,200