The exhibition selected from the permanent collection is now on view from Feb.8 to Mar. 6.
It includes Japanese paintings and woodblock prints from the 17th to the early 20th centuries by HISHIKAWA Moronobu, KANO Yasunobu, KANO Tansetsu, SUZUKI Harunobu, KATSUSHIKA Hokusai, UTAGAWA Hiroshige, KEISAI Eisen, KOBAYASHI Kiyochika, and so on under the theme of "Winter Delight",
Here are some of them.
The title of the woodblock print above is "Makinoo of the Okamotoya with her attendants Sumao and Akashi, from the series Models for New Year's Fashions".
(雛形若菜の初模様 岡本屋内 巻き尾 すまの) by ISODA Koryusai, 磯田湖龍斉(1735～?) .
Koryusai depicted New Year's fashion as worn by Makinoo, a courtesan of the Okamotoya House.
The series ran for more than 140 prints during the years from 1776 to 1781, the longest ukiyo-e print series of beauties ever known. These prints were similar to the current fashion magazines.
This print was published in around 1776.
The title of the woodblock print above is "Minakuchi Kichijuro of Maruebiya," from the series A Tokaido Board Game of Courtesans Fifty-three Paintings in the Yoshiwara (契情道中双六みな口見立て五十三つい丸海老屋内 吉十郎) by KEISAI Eisen (1791～1848)
Eisen depicted Kichijuro coming out barefooted from the Maruebiya House.
In those days Courtesans at Yoshiwara never wore tabi socks because
they felt pride of showing off the beautiful feet, even when it was extremely cold.
She wore a kimono with patterns of snow crystals which became very fashionable.
This woodblock print was published in around 1825.
The title of the Woodblock print is "Cranes on Pine Covered by Snow, 雪中松に雪" by KATSUSHIKA Hokusai (1760～1849). Hokusai intentionally made blank spaces to depict the snow. There are another four prints depicting hawks, horses, carps, and turtles. Therefore it must have been included in a series of five prints.
This woodblock print was published in around 1833.
This is the left-hand screen of a pair of six folding screens titled "Camellias", the artist unknown
This was supposed to have been drawn in the early Edo period.
The source of the image is the poster in front of the entrance.
The title of the woodblock print above is "Oi" from the series Sixty-nine Stations of Kiso Road (木曾路海道六十九次之内 大井) by UTAGAWA Hiroshige (1797～1858).
Hiroshige depicted a group of travelers with straw cape-clad heading for the next station in much snow. Though we can see none of their facial expressions, the image appeals to us very much.
This woodblock print was published in around 1836.
The title of the woodblock print is "A Young Woman Looking at a Peony in Winter,"
from the Series Present day Beauties by YAMAMOTO Shoun 山本昇雲 (1870～1965).
Shoun depicted a fashionable woman finding a great joy in admiring the peony protected by the straw mat in the snow.
MATSUKI Heikichi published a series of Ukiyoe that Shoun depicted fashionable beauties in the Meiji period.
This woodblock print was published in 1909(Meiji 42).
The title of the woodblock print above is "View of Mt. Fuji from the Hakone Range”(箱根山中富嶽眺望) by KOBAYASHI Kiyochika 小林清親(1847～1916)
Kiyochika emphasized the accurate depictions of sunlight. It was found on the list of his woodblock prints that 'I sketched at 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the early January'.
This woodblock print was published in 1880(Meiji 13)
The title of the woodblock print above is "Red Gate of Tokyo University, a National Treasure," from the series One Hundred Scenes from Tokyo Metropolis in the Showa Period, by KOIZUMI KIshio (1893～1945). Kishio was deeply impressed by the historic building, Red Gate (東大赤門）standing out under the large flakes of snow.
This woodblock print was published in 1936 (Showa 11).
＊Secial Edition: Prints from Fuse Collection
Please visit the blog 'Selection from the Permanent Collection XI' I posted on Jan. 9.
FUSE Toshio(布施俊夫) was born in Chiba City in 1920 (大正9年). Besides his work in a pharmaceutical company, he was enthusiastic about collecting works of art. Seventy-five works, mostly prints by European and Japanese artists from the 16th century to recent times, were donated to Chiba City by FUSE Toshiko in 1995 (平成7年).
＊Special Edition: Calligraphy as the second Japonisme
The source of the image is the poster in front of the entrance.
More about Chiba City Museum of Art: please access https://www.tokyo2020chiba.com/post/shall-we-see-the-museums