Two women stretching cloth

Date:: c. 1797/98
Medium:: Color woodblock print; double-page illustration from book
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Later reprint (Meiji–Taisho era publishers): $100–$500
Good later impression (Edo-period, worn plate): $2,000–$8,000
Good early impression (fine line work, crisp): $8,000–$25,000
Fine early impression (exceptional line quality and condition): $25,000–$60,000

From Hokusai's Eight Views of Omi in Etching Style (Doban Omi hakkei), a rare venture into Western-style copperplate intaglio printing. These prints reveal Hokusai's lifelong fascination with European techniques.

Description

Two women pull and stretch a long bolt of textile cloth between them, their extended arms forming the horizontal axis of the composition in this double-page illustration from a book from around 1797–98. The stretching of cloth — done to smooth and align the weave after dyeing or washing — was a task requiring two workers in a coordinated rhythm, and Hokusai depicts the physical effort with the same attentiveness he gave to carpentry, fishing, and other forms of skilled labor.