Artwork preview

Shells under Water

Kitagawa Utamaro

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image shows an open book with Japanese writing on it. The left and right pages are visible, with a thin vertical line down the middle where the pages meet. The pages are a light-brown color. The top half of both pages contains black Japanese text written in a calligraphic style. The bottom half of the pages contains simple drawings of seashells and a large gray rock. The drawings are in shades of gray, black, and reddish-brown. The background behind the book is white.

Artwork details

Date:
1790
Medium:
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Culture:
Japan
Dimensions:
598 × 384 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette