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Aristocratic Lady beside the Kinuta Tama River in Settsu Province, from an untitled series of the Six Jewel Rivers

Aristocratic Lady beside the Kinuta Tama River in Settsu Province, from an untitled series of the Six Jewel Rivers

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Utagawa Toyohiro

The Six Jewel Rivers, or Mu Tamagawa, are rivers located throughout Japan that share the name of Tama. The Kinuta Tama River is in Settsu Province (modern-day Osaka). Known for their beauty, the rivers have inspired Japanese poets since the middle ages. During the Edo period, The Six Jewel Rivers became a popular artistic theme and representations for each river were standardized, with occasional variations that included parodies, or mitate. Toyohiro’s design is a “red-avoiding picture,” using a limited color pallet that excludes red in its printing. Depictions of the Kinuta Tama River commonly include two women fulling cloth. Here the two figures are in the far distance and the focus instead is on an aristocratic woman, possibly the celebrated poetess Lady Sagami who is sometimes also associated with the Kinuta Tama River.
Artist
Utagawa Toyohiro
(Japanese, 1773 - 1828)
Title
Aristocratic Lady beside the Kinuta Tama River in Settsu Province, from an untitled series of the Six Jewel Rivers
Date
1790-1800
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
382 x 256 mm Overall
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.3113
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. 80, no. 31

  • 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

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