Golden Pheasant (Kinkeicho)
c. 1720/25
Medium
Hand-colored woodblock print; hosoban, urushi-e
Dimensions
32.2 × 15.5 cm (12 1/2 × 6 1/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19812
Art Historical Context
Behold the exquisite *Golden Pheasant (inkeicho)*, a hand-colored woodblock print by the innovative Edo-period artist Okumura Masan, created around 1720–25. Measuring a slender 32.2 × 15.5 cm in the narrow hosoban format, this urushi-e print exemplifies early ukiyo-e mastery from Japan's "floating world" culture, where art celebrated beauty, nature, and fleeting pleasures amid the vibrant urban life of Edo (modern Tokyo). Masanobu, a pioneer of single-sheet prints, elevated the urushi-e technique—using glossy black inks mixed with vegetable glue and meticulously hand-applied colors—to mimic t...
About the Artist
Okumura Masanobu · 1686–1764
Japanese, 1686–1764