The Complete Book of True Figure Studies (horizontal scroll), Maruyama Ōkyo

Artwork Overview

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Maruyama Ōkyo, artist
1733–1795
The Complete Book of True Figure Studies (horizontal scroll), late 1700s–early 1800s, Edo period (1600–1868)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: ink; paper
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 33.5 x 1213 cm
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 33.5 x 1277 cm
Credit line: Museum purchase: Barbara Benton Wescoe Fund
Accession number: 1996.0025.c
Not on display
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Label texts

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Detailed studies of body parts and types were central to the naturalist style of painting perfected by the Kyoto artist Maruyama Ōkyo. The closely articulated genetalia in this section would have most likely been used in a genre referred to as “shunga,” which literally means “spring pictures.” Shunga explicitly depicted sexual acts, but it was also integral to the broader category known as “ukiyo-e” or “pictures of the floating world,” which describe the associated culture of the Yoshiwara—the pleasure quarters of Edo (modern-day Tokyo).
Kris Imants Ercums, Curator of Asian Art

Exhibitions

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Kris Ercums, curator
2009

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute