Fishing Boats with Nets under Ryōgoku Bridge

Description

Fishing boats and nets occupy the foreground beneath Ryōgoku Bridge, whose crowded span stretches across the upper scene. A distant river landscape opens beyond the practical activity below. Kitagawa Utamaro joins fishermen, vessels and urban landmark in one wide encounter, allowing different scales of movement and gathering to give the river setting a populated visual life.

Dating to the 1790s, the work is a triptych of woodblock prints in ink and color on paper. Its multi-sheet format gives the river setting room to develop across related parts. The image preserves an activity associated with movement in a lasting arrangement, allowing nets, boats and bridge to remain central without attaching an unsupported story or specific catch to the scene.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.