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A View of Mimeguri, from the series Perspective Pictures

A View of Mimeguri, from the series Perspective Pictures

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Utagawa Toyoharu

In this detailed perspective print, dozens of human and animal figures dot the expansive landscape. Going about their daily activities, the inhabitants are shown cultivating rice paddies, visiting the famed Mimeguri Shrine, and crossing the river in boats. Swirls of black smoke can be made out rising on the distant horizon. The bird’s-eye view creates the illusion of great spatial depth. A path alongside the snaking Sumida River draws the viewer’s eye to the background, where Mt. Tsukuba is prominently placed near the river’s vanishing point. This work clearly demonstrates Toyoharu’s mastery of the genre of perspective pictures.
Artist
Utagawa Toyoharu
(Japanese, 1735 - 1814)
Title
A View of Mimeguri, from the series Perspective Pictures
Date
1770-1780
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
265 x 393 mm Overall
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.3093
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

By 1925, purchased in Japan by Frank Lloyd Wright; ca. 1926, acquired by The Bank of Wisconsin; 1928, sold to Edward Burr Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 1943, passed through inheritance to Edward’s son, John H. Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 9 January 1980, bequeathed by John H. Van Vleck to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 61, no. 6
  • Osumi, Takeshige, ed. "Edward Burr Van Vleck Collection Ukiyo-e Masterpieces Exhibition." Tokyo: Bun You Associates, 1999.

  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/2/2009–11/26/2009
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008
  • Edward Burr Van Vleck Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 10/13/1999–6/30/2000

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