Gathering of Otsu-e Subjectslate 1800s · Study 1982.9

Context from the museum

This lively scene captures a gathering of stock figures from Otsu-e, or "Otsu paintings." Otsu-e were folk paintings made as souvenirs for travelers passing through the station of Otsu along the Tokaido, the route stretching from Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto. Parodies of standard ukiyo-e compositions featuring Otsu-e subjects were popular in woodblock prints of the 19th century. Shibata Zeshin, an artist whose career spanned the transition from the Edo period (1615–1868) to the Meiji period (1868–1912), was fond of depicting urban culture and the pastimes of commoners, aware that they were slipping away in the face of Japan’s modernization. This composition would have appealed to the witty sensibilities of city denizens.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Shibata Zeshin was not only famous in the realm of painting but also in the world of lacquer design.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected image measurement for Gathering of Otsu-e Subjects is 396 cm wide and 101 cm high, equivalent to approximately 155.9 × 39.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 3.92:1. The rectangular bounding area is 4.00 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 132.0% of the span before adding a frame. That exceeds the example wall width, so a smaller reference wall would not reproduce the recorded scale. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Gathering of Otsu-e Subjects in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, Eight-panel folding screen; ink and color on hemp, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 396 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?