1830
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
First Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych is a 1830 by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows people collecting sea life at low tide. It's one of five private prints with witty poems. The poems were written by a poetry circle in Edo, now Tokyo. The poems add a fun touch to the scene, and this print may have been made in April, a good time for beachcombing. You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1797–1861).
This is one of five surimono , privately commissioned prints, making up an image of people collecting sea life at low tide. Ten witty poems, written by members of a poetry circle, appear across the upper part of the composition, with two poems on each print. Based in Edo (now Tokyo), the group was led by Hisakataya Misora (active 1810s–30s), who wrote four of the poems. This composition may have been printed in April, which was considered the best time for beachcombing.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Kuniyoshi grew up in old Tokyo when the city was still called Edo. His dad ran a silk shop, but Kuniyoshi loved anything with pictures—scrolls, screens, comic books. He talked his way into the Utagawa school, a kind of…
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