Beauty at the Mimeguri Shrine

Description

This fashionable woman is enjoying a cool evening by the Mimeguri Shrine, located on an embankment of the Sumida River, which flows through central Tokyo. Her clothing advertises her sophistication: a chic lightweight black kimono that reveals the colors of her robes underneath, with a complementary obi (sash). Toyohiro was a second-generation artist of the Utagawa School, the most prominent painters of ukiyo-e, or “floating world” pictures. The phrase “floating world” describes a way of life in premodern Japanese cities (17th–19th centuries) that celebrated enjoyment in fleeting pleasures such as art, beauty, and fashion.

Beauty at the Mimeguri Shrine

Utagawa Toyohiro

Edo period, Bunka era c. 1804/18

Accession Number

32132

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink, colors and gold pigment on silk

Dimensions

70.5 × 26.5 cm (27 3/4 × 10 7/16 in.); Mounting: 158.1 × 37.2 cm (62 1/4 × 14 5/8 in.); Width including lower roller: W.: 42.6 cm (16 3/4 in.)

Classification

hanging scroll

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Margaret Gentles