Mandarin Ducks in a Spring Landscape: Program for a Jururui Performance 1797 - 1817

Utamaro II created this woodblock print titled 'Mandarin Ducks in a Spring Landscape' sometime between 1750 and 1850. The artwork divides into distinct zones: an upper pictorial space and a lower textual section filled with dense script. Above, a landscape unfolds with soft hues of pink and green, depicting ducks amidst blossoming cherry trees. Notice how the composition balances the natural imagery with the structured text below. The contrast between the organic forms of the landscape and the rigid lines of the text creates a visual tension. The materiality of the print, with its delicate paper and subtle colour variations, suggests a concern with ephemerality. The artwork invites us to consider the interplay between visual representation and linguistic structure, reflecting on how meaning is constructed through both image and word. It also encourages us to question traditional notions of space and representation.