Picture of the Middle Class (Chubon no zu), from the series Three Ranks of Young Women according to Their Fashions (Fuzoku sandan musume)

Dateca. 1795

Maker Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, 1754 - 1806

Label TextThe figures in this Utamaro print are stylish women of the urban middle class, probably the well-to-do daughters of an Edo merchant. Wearing loose summer robes, they are admiring a sweet flag plant in a water basin. The courtesans of the Yoshiwara district were trendsetters, and wealthy commoners like these young women of the middle class quickly adopted their tastes in fashion. --Catherine Roche, Curatorial Associate, 2010

Object number2017.23.5

ProvenanceCollection of Florine Ebstein Langweil (1861-1958), Paris, France; Adolphe Stoclet (1871-1949), Brussels, Belgium; [Sotheby’s, London, Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books & Paintings from The Adolphe Stoclet Collection, June 8, 2004, sale no. L04753, lot no. 206, reproduced p. 117]; purchased at auction by [Israel Goldman Japanese Prints, London, England]; purchased from gallery by Allan Kollar, Seattle, Washington, 2004; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2017

Photo CreditPhoto: Susan Cole

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, SAM at 75: Building a Collection for Seattle, May 5 - Sept. 9, 2007. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Fleeting Beauty: Japanese Woodblock Prints, Apr. 1 - July 4, 2010. Text by Catherine Roche. Cat. no. 20, reproduced p. 43.

Credit LineGift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions15 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (39.1 x 26.7 cm)

MediumWoodblock print; ink and color on paper