風船昇遥図|Illustration of a Balloon Ascending (Fūsen shōyō no zu)
1872
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From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
1872
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From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
The painting shows a triptych of woodblock prints depicting a crowd watching hot air balloons. People in 19th-century clothes are on a green field, looking up at balloons and a parachute in the sky. The balloons are in different stages of preparation and flight. The interesting thing is that one balloon has a striped pattern, while another has a more intricate design. The crowd seems excited, with some people pointing up at the balloons. If you're interested in learning more about this style of art, you might want to look up the movement: Realism.
