Historical Prints
Place | Men | Women | Exotica & Erotica

Place: the city, the countryside

One of a pair of six-panel rakuchû rakugai zu byôbu, known as the Funaki screens, 1614-15. Ink and color with gold leaf on paper, each screen 162 x 340 cm. Tokyo National Museum. From Tokyo National Museum, The TNM Gallery (14 May 2004).		Yuna (Bathhouse Girls). Edo period, 17th c. Hanging scroll, color on paper, 72.5 x 80.1 cm. MOA Museum of Art, Atami City, Shizuoka. From MOA Museum of Art, “Paintings” (18 January 2005).
Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865). Picture of Kanbara from The Fifty-three Stages of the Tôkaidô (Tôkaidô gojûsan tsugi no uchi: Kanbara zu), ca. 1853. Color woodblock print, chûban, 10 x 7-1/2 in. Library of Congress, Washington, DC. From Library of Congress, The Floating World of Ukiyo-e, “Major Genres: Beauties, Actors, and Landscapes” (20 January 2005).		Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Fuji Straddled, from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, first published 1834. Woodblock-printed book in 3 volumes. New York Public Library. From Katshushika Hokusai, One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji (New York: George Braziller, 1988).

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Men: kabuki actors, playboys and dandies

Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764). Play at Ichimura Theater, 1749. Color woodblock print. From “Edo Japan by Sarah Fraser” (24 January 2005).		Tôshûsai Sharaku (active 1794-1795). Ôtani Oniji III in the Role of Yakko Edobei, published by Tsutaya Jûzaburô, 1794. Brocade print, ôban size. Tokyo National Museum. From Tokyo National Museum, The TNM Gallery (24 January 2005).
Katsukawa Shunsô (1726-1792). Nakamura Nakazô I, from the series Fans from Edo, published by Iwatoya Genpachi, 1770s. Brocade print, ôban size. Tokyo National Museum. From Kobayashi, 20.		Torii Kiyomasu (active 1697-1722). Ichikawa Danjûrô I in the role of Takenuki Gorô, published by Igaya Kan'uemon, 1697. Orange print, large ôban size, 54.7 x 32 cm. Tokyo National Museum. Tokyo National Museum. From Tokyo National Museum, The TNM Gallery (24 January 2005).

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Women: courtesans, women in daily life

Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806). Deeply Concealed Love, from the series Great Love Themes of Classical Poetry, published by Tsutaya Jûzaburô, 1792-93. Brocade print, ôban size. Tokyo National Museum. From Kobayashi, 30.		Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806). Woman Reading a Letter, from the series Female Facial Types of Eight Classes, published by Tsutaya Jûzaburô, 1792-93. Brocade print, ôban size. Tokyo National Museum. From Kobayashi, 33.
Hishikawa Moronobu (1618-1694). A Standing Woman, late 17th c. Hanging scroll, color on silk, 68.8 x 31.2 cm. Entrusted to the Azabu Museum of Art and Craft. From Kobayashi, 6.		Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806). Hour of the Snake, from the series Women at Various Hours of the Day. Brocade print, 37.8 X 25 cm. Tokyo National Museum. From The TNM Gallery (3 February 2005).

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Exotica & Erotica: foreigners, shunga

Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770). Shared Umbrella, late 1760s. Multi-colored woodblock print. From Screech, 27.		Tamagawa Senshû. Woman Washing, ca. 1795. Multi-colored woodblock print. From Screech, 67.
Utagawa Kunifusa (fl. ca.1804-30). Playing Sugoroku at a Heated Table, from the shunga album Tsukushi matsufuji no shirakami, 1830. Multi-colored woodblock page with pull-up. From Screech, 29.		Chôbunsai Eishô. A European and a Maruyama Prostitute, ca. 1790s. Multi-colored woodblock print. From Screech, 254.

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Crit Guidelines
Critique of Project #1 | Critique of Project #2 | Critique of Project #4

Sandy Wimer's Most Effective Critique Format
(especially for newbie-type printmakers)

1. First and foremost, extend courtesy to your colleagues by listening as they speak. We will be giving you full attention when you are explaining what it is you are up to. Each person will explain to the class what they are trying to do in their image and we will respond.
2. Try to offer honest responses and try to surpass the phrase “It’s nice – I like it.” Tell us why you like it and why you think it works.
3. Also share any observations you may have that could help to make a particular piece stronger.
4. This first print, we will be looking for these specific things:
   1. How has the printmaker shared his/her concept of Edo as place?
   2. Did the printmaker borrow from an old master? If so, how did he/she make the image his/her own? We want to do more than just copy someone else’s ideas. Remember – the idea is central to any art piece.
   3. What is the focal point of the image?
   4. How does the viewer’s eye move throughout the piece?
   5. Is the composition asymmetrical or symmetrical?
   6. Is the composition balanced visually?
   7. What kinds of contrast are used? (value scale, texture, size scale, etc.)
   8. How well is the image printed? Are there finger prints, etc. in the margins? I will ask you to hand in your edition of four prints and will look to see how closely they resemble one another.
5. Think of the critique as a gift in that you will have many people looking at your work, giving you feedback. As you know, you are welcome to go back and rework your image to make it stronger as I don’t give final grades on images until the end of the term.

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Critique Format #2
The Floating World

1. Pair up with your designated partner and take your prints with you.
2. Arrange your prints for viewing on the table.
3. Leave your prints and go to another set of prints where Prof. Wimer instructs you to go.
4. Answer the following questions about each image:
   1. How has the printmaker shared his/her concept of “man”?
   2. Does it relate to what we have learned in our history of Edo?
   3. How did the printmaker use color in this print? A focal point? An overall fill? Something else?
   4. Is the use of color effective?
   5. What is the focal point of the piece?
   6. How does the viewer’s eye move throughout the piece?
   7. What kinds of contrast did the printmaker use?
   8. How is the craftsmanship? Clean margins? Consistent printing?
5. Please record all your responses and when you have finished be ready to present these two prints to the class.

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Critique Format #4
Shunga Project

1. Please place three of your signed edition of four prints in a stack in front of you on the table. Tack the fourth one up on the board.
2. Place two blank sheets of paper that have your name at the top next to your prints.
3. Move from print to print and record your responses to the questions listed below on the blank sheets adjacent to each print.
   1. Is the printing consistent throughout the edition?
   2. Is the ink over-applied, under-applied or just right?
   3. Does the color contribute to the meaning of the image? If yes, explain how.
   4. How is the subject of shunga depicted in this print? Is it subtle or blatant? Would it have been more effective handled another way?
   5. Is the image a complete thought? (Does it seem finished?) If not, please give suggestions for making it stronger.

Each student will receive a set of responses. Please read through the one you receive and formulate a summary of the analysis to present to the class.

We will spend no longer than five minutes on each print. Assign someone to be a time keeper.

When it’s your turn, please go to the front of the class and stand by the print that you will talk about.

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