Sunset at Ryōgoku Bridge

1806–20

Katsukawa Shunkō II (Shunsen) 二代目　勝川春好（春扇）

(Japanese, c. 1762-c. 1821)

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Sheet: 22.3 x 17.2 cm (8 3/4 x 6 3/4 in.)

Bequest of Mrs. Madeleine Hamill in memory of Lawrence Hamill 1949.134

Location: not on view

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Description

A view of boats and riverside stalls near the Ryōgoku Bridge is captured in a roundel. The scene is accompanied by a poem. Much faded today, traces of the colors used to indicate the last rays of the sun remain. The artist signed the print “design by Shunsen” (Shunsen ga), a name he used from New Year’s of 1806, after he became a student of Katsukawa Shun’ei (1762-1819). Around the year 1820, he took the name Shunkō II. He designed prints of beauties, actors, and landscapes. In his final years, he painted designs on ceramics.