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Picking Clams

ca. 1791
Not on view
In the late eighteenth century, ukiyo-e printmakers began to create works consisting of three attached ōban ("large format") sheets of paper. Toyokuni took advantage of this layout to place figures in panoramic landscapes. In this triptych, he arranged a group of three figures in the foreground of each sheet and used Western perspective (uki-e) to draw our eyes to the seascape in the distance. At the center, beauties in stunning garments stand in graceful poses like actors on stage, flanking a handsome young man.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Picking Clams
  • Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I (Japanese, 1769–1825)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1791
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: 15 5/8 x 30 5/8 in. (39.7 x 77.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1914
  • Object Number: JP204
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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On Shinagawa Beach at Ebb-Tide, Utagawa Toyokuni I Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
On Shinagawa Beach at Ebb-Tide
Utagawa Toyokuni I
1769–1825
Along the Seashore at Futami, Utagawa Toyokuni I Japanese, Middle sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan
Along the Seashore at Futami
Utagawa Toyokuni I
The Fourth Month, Utagawa Toyokuni I Japanese, Two sheets of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan
The Fourth Month
Utagawa Toyokuni I
ca. 1801
Keisei Ichikawa Denzo, Utagawa Toyokuni I Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
Keisei Ichikawa Denzo
Utagawa Toyokuni I
ca. 1797–1800
Forty-seven Ronins
Utagawa Toyokuni I

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