Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando Hiroshige)
'Courtesan and Young Man at Fuchu' Original Erotic Shunga Woodblock

ca. 1850

About the Item

The present work is an excellent example of the erotic Shunga prints produced by Utagawa 'Ando' Hioshige and his school. Shunga imagery became especially widespread in Japan with the spread of the use of woodblock printing, allowing these images to be produced in large numbers and distributed widely and inexpensively. Most major woodblock artists produced erotic scenes at some point in their careers, usually showing an idealized view into courtly life, in keeping with the larger Ukiyo-e tradition. This print shows a man and woman mid-coitus, wearing fine silk clothes and lying before an open balcony. Beyond the balcony is a view of a city bustling with figures. Like the beholder of this print, these figures have a similar voyeuristic view into this private moment. Multiple sophisticated printmaking techniques were used to make this image, not only including the multiple blocks needed to render each color. Special attention is paid to the faces of the figures; their hair and features show highly detailed 'key lines' that demonstrate the mastery of the block carver. 3.5 x 4.5 inches, print (koban yoko-e) 14.63 x 15.66 inches, frame Framed to conservation standards using 100 percent rag matting, housed in a gold gilded frame Print in excellent condition with vibrant colors and little signs of wear. Some wear to gilding on frame.
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    ca. 1850
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14.63 in (37.17 cm)Width: 15.88 in (40.34 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Frame Included
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
    Print is in excellent condition. Some minor abrasion to gilding on frame.
  • Gallery Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 1080d1stDibs: LU605312891762
More From This SellerView All
You May Also Like
  • Seishi Ai-oi Genji – Set of 12 Shunga works together w/astrological commentary
    By Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
    Located in Middletown, NY
    Set of 12 woodblock prints in colors on handmade, laid mulberry paper, 6 3/4 x 10 1/4 inches (170 x 258 mm), printed in Ka-ei 4 (1851). Each print with minor handling wear, otherwise in excellent condition with bright and fresh color, and with details printed in silver ink. The images themselves contain several illusive characters indicating the publisher which are obfuscated by figures, as intended. Presented loose, as issued. A fine set. The astrological commentary print has a large and meandering blind stamp with a bird and palm frond motif. This print lists various phrases concerning the Twelve Zodiac Animals as historically counted in Japan, and appears to include erotic commentary on the traits of people born under each of the twelve signs. These Shunga images were issued in books that paralleled (in an erotic fashion...
    Category

    Mid-19th Century Edo Nude Prints

    Materials

    Handmade Paper, Ink, Woodcut

  • Suffering- Original Woodcut on Paper by Erikma Lawson Frimke - 1937
    By Erikma Lawson Frimke
    Located in Roma, IT
    Suffering is an original woodcut artwork on paper realized in 1937 by Russian artist Erikma Lawson Frimke (1878-1956), Hand-signed and dated on the lower in pencil. The state of pre...
    Category

    1930s Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • 'Madman's Drum (Plate 41)' — 1930s Graphic Modernism
    By Lynd Ward
    Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
    Lynd Ward, 'Madman's Drum, Plate 41', wood engraving, 1930, edition small. Signed in pencil. A fine, black impression, on off-white tissue-thin Japan paper; the full sheet with margins (1 5/8 to 2 1/2 inches); a small paper blemish in the upper right margin, away from the image, otherwise in excellent condition. Scarce. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches (140 x 95 mm); sheet size 9 5/8 x 7 1/8 inches (244 x 181 mm). From Lynd Ward’s book of illustrations without words, 'Madman’s Drum', Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, New York, 1930. Illustrated in 'Storyteller Without Words: The Wood Engravings of Lynd Ward', Harry Abrams, New York, 1974. Reproduced in 'Storyteller Without Words, the Wood Engravings of Lynd Ward', Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1974. ABOUT THE ARTIST Lynd Ward is acknowledged as one of America’s foremost wood engravers and book illustrators of the first half of the twentieth century. His innovative use of narrative printmaking as a stand-alone storytelling vehicle was uniquely successful in reaching a broad audience. The powerful psychological intensity of his work, celebrated for its dynamic design, technical precision, and compelling dramatic content, finds resonance in the literature of Poe, Melville, and Hawthorne. Like these classic American writers, Ward was concerned with the themes of man’s inner struggles and the role of the subconscious in determining his destiny. An artist of social conscience during the Great Depression and World War II, he infused his graphic images with his unique brand of social realism, deftly portraying the problems that challenged the ideals of American society. The son of a Methodist preacher, Lynd Ward, moved from Chicago to Massachusetts at an early age. He graduated from the Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, in 1926, where he studied illustration and graphic arts. He married May Yonge McNeer in 1936 and left for Europe for their honeymoon in Eastern Europe. After four months, they settled in Leipzig, where Ward studied at the National Academy of Graphic Arts and Bookmaking. Inspired by Belgian expressionist artist Frans Masereel's graphic novel ‘The Sun,’ and another graphic novel by the German artist Otto Nückel, ‘Destiny,’ he determined to create his own "wordless" novel. Upon his return to America, Ward completed his first book, ‘God's Man: A Novel in Woodcuts,’ published in 1929. ‘Gods’ Man’ was a great success for its author and publisher and was reprinted four times in 1930, including a British edition. This book and several which followed it, ‘Madman’s Drum,’ 1930, ‘Wild Pilgrimage...
    Category

    1930s American Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • Standing Nude - Original Woodcut On Rigid Paper- 1976
    Located in Roma, IT
    Standing Nude is a original artwork realized in 1976 by the Spanish artist José A.Benasalvas. Original Woodcut on rigid paper. Edition of 25 prints. Hand-signed by the artist on t...
    Category

    1970s Modern Nude Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • Ex Libris Tibor Gubisi - Original Woodcut - 1930
    Located in Roma, IT
    Ex Libris Tibor Gubisi is an original Contemporary Artwork realized in the early 20th Century . Original B/W Xilograph artwork on ivory-colored paper. The work is glued on card...
    Category

    1930s Modern Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Woodcut

  • Pablo Picasso (after) Helene Chez Archimede - Wood Engraving
    By (after) Pablo Picasso
    Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
    Pablo Picasso (after) Helene Chez Archimede Medium: engraved on wood by Georges Aubert Dimensions: 44 x 33 cm Portfolio: Helen Chez Archimede Year: 1955 Edition: 240 (Here it is on...
    Category

    1950s Cubist Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Engraving, Woodcut

Recently Viewed

View All