Mother and Children at the New Year

18th century

Not on view

Toyoharu, the founder of the Utagawa school, depicted women more often in paintings than in prints. The gentle elegance of his images of women is also seen in works by other artists of the late eighteenth century.

Here, a boy entertains his younger brother by hiding in the layers of their mother's kimono while she tries to hold onto the wriggling child. The playful, swirling movement of the three figures reflects the pleasant festivities of the New Year season, represented by the pine and bamboo decoration in the background.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Mother and Children at the New Year
Artist: Utagawa Toyoharu (Japanese, 1735–1814)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 18th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: 40 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (103.5 x 31.8 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Object Number: 14.76.70f
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Utagawa Toyoharu

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Crane and Their Young in Their Nest in the Branches of a Pine-tree, Utagawa Toyoharu Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints (surimono enriched with gold); ink and color on paper, Japan — Crane and Their Young in Their Nest in the Branches of a Pine-tree
Utagawa Toyoharu
ca. 1790

Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese — Armor (*Gusoku*)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries

Hawk at sunrise, Jeong Hong-Rae 정홍래 鄭弘來 Korean, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Korea — Hawk at sunrise
Attributed to Jeong Hong-Rae 정홍래 鄭弘來
second half 18th century–first half 19th century

Perspective Print: Shinobazu Pond, Utagawa Toyoharu Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Perspective Print: Shinobazu Pond
Utagawa Toyoharu

Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese — Helmet (*Zukinnari Kabuto*)
Japanese
16th century

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