Due to unforeseen circumstances, the museum is closed today. We regret any inconvenience.
Closed Today
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the museum is closed today. We regret any inconvenience.
The Allen presents changing exhibitions along with engaging guest speakers and public programs.
Learn MoreThe Allen's collection is particularly strong in 17th century Dutch and Flemish painting, Japanese prints, early modern art, African art, and more.
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Learn MoreAugust 19 - December 12, 2023
In Ripin Gallery
August 19 - December 12, 2023
In Ripin Gallery
This exhibition was inspired by Anna Von Mertens / Henrietta Leavitt: A Life Spent Looking, which is currently on view downstairs in the Ellen Johnson Gallery. That exhibition highlights the work of astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868–1921). How does Leavitt’s work relate to the Japanese woodblock prints of the Edo period (1603–1868) on view here? To make her discovery, Leavitt had to carefully compare photographic plates of the same section of deep space, identifying and charting the changes in Cepheid variable stars. This exhibition allows you to practice a similar exercise in close looking. The Allen’s renowned Mary Ainsworth collection of Japanese prints includes many duplicate prints to compare: some simply differ in color choices from one print run to another; some reflect changes by the designer to the original composition; some are compositions from one designer adapted by another; and some are 20th-century reproductions of Edo period originals.
Learn more about Japanese prints:
Ukiyo-e Prints in Context
How were ukiyo-e prints made?
Green Japan: Viewing Ukiyo-e Landscape Prints through the Lens of Environmental Sustainability
Joan L. Danforth Curator of Asian Art
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