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「十二枚続 正月 初湯之図」
The First Bath of the New Year (Shôgatsu hatsuyu no zu), from a set of twelve (Jûnimai tsuzuki)
「十二枚続 正月 初湯之図」
Japanese
Edo period
1810s
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ôban; 38.2 x 26.6 cm (15 1/16 x 10 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.15716
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Everyday activities took on a special significance when they were done for the first time at the beginning of the New Year. Here, a beautifully dressed woman with high clogs and an umbrella to protect her from the snow makes her way to (or perhaps from) the bathhouse for a hot soak that will be especially enjoyable in the cold weather. She carries a towel draped over her shoulder and a bathrobe bundled up under her arm.
Catalogue Raisonné
Ôta Memorial Museum of Art, Utagawa-ha (Kobijutsu special issue, 1986), #45
Signed
Toyokuni ga
豊国画
豊国画
Marks
Censor's seal: kiwame
改印：極
改印：極
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.