Sadahide Utagawa, Court Ladies, Cherry Blossom Viewing
Original Japanese woodblock print.
Artist: Sadahide Utagawa (1807-1873)
Title: Court Ladies Going out for Cherry Blossom Viewing
Publisher: Izumiya Ichibei
Date: 1843
Size: (R) 25.6 x 36.8 (C) 25.4 x 37.3 (L) 25.4 x 37.1 cm
Condition report: Pinholes and wormholes, light creases.
Utagawa Sadahide was an accomplished woodblock print designer. His real name was Hashimoto, but he also used the art names of Gountei Sadahide and Gyokuransai Sadahide. He was one of the most talented students of Kunisada, best known for his Yokohama-e – images of Westerners stationed in the port of Yokohama. He experimented with a panoramic perspective and bird’s eye- view to depict panoramas of Osaka, Kyoto and Nagasaki. His art was very appreciated by the contemporary and exhibited during the World Exhibition in Paris in 1866 alongside artists like Zeshin Shibata.
Cherry blossom viewing was and still is a favourite pastime for the Japanese. In this print, a group of high-rank ladies is seen walking along the river. They are richly dressed and carry various items they will be using for their cherry blossom picnic. A lady is sitting inside a palanquin while others are carrying umbrellas. Boats can be seen on the river and the cherry trees in bloom are framing the overall joyous image.
Sadahide Utagawa
Sadahide was a prolific but minor woodblock printmaker and illustrator. His style was born out of the Utagawa school in which he studied, his early works centring around Bijin-ga, beauty portraits and later producing ukiyo-e prints in the landscape and musha-e genres. However, he is most well-known for his Yokohama-e; scenes of modern industry and foreigners in Yokohama. Sadahide produced not just print, but guidebooks to Yokohama, teaching the habits of foreign residents hoping to dispel myths about them, and also show the Japanese people what can learn from Western customs.
Throughout his work, Sadahide’s effective and decorative prints show the influence of Western perspective and chiaroscuro. He was chosen as one ukiyo-e artist in the Tokugawa Shogun’s delegation to the 1867 Paris exhibition, giving him the chance to be shown internationally in a period where he was a best-selling artist in Japan.
| Print Format | Triptych |
|---|---|
| Artist | Sadahide Utagawa |
| Subject | Beauty & Female, Landscapes, Flowers & Botanical |
| Dimensions | (R) 25.6 x 36.8 (C) 25.4 x 37.3 (L) 25.4 x 37.1 cm |
| Publisher | Izumiya Ichibei |
