Ryuryukyo Shinsai (Japanese, active 1799–1823)
A Giant Radish, Chrysanthemums, and Ferns
INV-2352
Ryuryukyo Shinsai (Japanese, active 1799–1823)About 1820
A Giant Radish, Chrysanthemums, and Ferns
Ryuryukyo Shinsai (Japanese, active 1799–1823) →Japanese (culture or style)woodblock printprint
Date
About 1820
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Dimensions
21.5 × 19 cm (8 1/2 × 7 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Clarence Buckingham Collection
This is a specific type of print known as a surimono, which means “something printed.” Prints of this type were produced on thicker paper than standard woodblock prints, and they were never sold—only privately commissioned. As a result, they did not carry the censorship or publisher’s seals required on commercial prints. Surimono were used among small groups of like-minded intellectuals as invitations or announcements and to celebrate the new year or other special events.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
Komurasaki of the Miuraya and Shirai Gompachi (Miuraya Komurasaki, Shirai Gompachi)
Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿 Japanese, c.1753-1806
Hamamatsu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
Mitsuke: Ferries Crossing the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa funawatashi), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
