PULLING FACES

PULLING FACES

Comic drawings (in Japanese: manga or kyoga) have a long history in Japan, dating back to the religious sphere as early as the 8th century.

The drawings were secularized and appeared in the Edo period, from the 17th through the mid-19th centuries, as humorous depictions without religious context.

The collection of works displayed here was created by three artists from the Utagawa school, which is considered one of the leading schools of ukiyo-e ("Pictures from the Floating World"). This genre depicts, in paintings and prints, the popular culture of the period. These works reflect the comic aspect of everyday scenes of human life and its ability to help deal with the difficulties of life.

Some focus on facial expressions and others on situations that bring a smile to the face of the viewer. The three artists, Toyokuni, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi, used to sign their works with a special signature meaning "caricature by the artist".

The humor shown here crosses cultures and times and serves as a connecting thread between the daily lives of the people of the past in Japan and our lives in the present.