Print 1830 - 1850

Curator: This compelling work is entitled "Print," created by Utagawa Kunisada between 1830 and 1850. The piece resides here at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It's wild, isn’t it? I get a feeling of two different worlds crashing into one another—calm interiority bumping up against fierce action. Like watching a play from the best seat in the house. Curator: Indeed. The work exemplifies ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world." Observe the distinct registers: a placid domestic scene in the foreground contrasted sharply against a dynamic battle rendered on a folding screen. This compositional choice introduces a metatheatrical dimension. Editor: Totally. I am curious about the colors. The subdued palette used in the foreground really emphasizes the vibrancy of the screen's warring samurai and mythical setting. Did the artist intend that the viewers should contrast these two different parts? It really makes you think what part of their lives the audience would value more. Curator: Certainly. Kunisada consciously manipulates the graphic structure. The print method allows us to analyze the delicate lines, carefully balanced compositions, and how tonal variations bring form to life. Editor: It's almost funny that someone would decorate their living room with such intense imagery. Though it makes you think about the narratives and battles they’d constantly have to think about in those times. How history and fiction and daily life maybe weren’t as separated. Curator: A cogent interpretation. It would be worthwhile to examine this artwork further in the context of narrative-art in the nineteenth-century Asian society. The print medium helped expand the possibilities for history painting. Editor: This print just made me consider that my idea of history has no shared likeness. How would a future generation of artists picture what happened? This makes me look for shared universalities through art.