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How to Draw Figures Simply (Jinbutsu ryakugashiki)

Kitao, Masayoshi, 1764-1824 · 1799 · Edo: Suharaya Ichibei 須原屋市兵衛 · 28 pictures

A Japanese woodblock drawing manual printed in Edo in 1799 by Kitao Masayoshi, intended for students learning to sketch figures quickly. Its pages show loose, colour-washed sketches of people in everyday poses, from courtiers and farmers to monks and sumo-like wrestlers, with a few animals and objects. A designer could take economical gesture, simplified silhouettes and the way a few brush lines suggest clothing folds and posture.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library