Hall of the “Art of Japan of the 18th–19th centuries”

Before the February Revolution of 1917, this part of the Winter Palace contained the living quarters of ladies-in-waiting. Ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) prints are on display in the hall; this was a movement in painting and print graphics in the Edo period (1603-1868), the main theme of which was the daily life of city dwellers, their work, amusements and celebrations. The primary subjects of Ukiyo-e were: bijinga (images of beautiful women), yakusha-e (images of actors), musha-e (images of warrior) and landscape. In this hall, the works of such artists as Yamagata Masatada, Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi and Utagawa Kunisada.
A separate topic of the exhibit is dedicated to such original and complex Japanese cultural phenomena as theatre. This consists of works of art that present the traditional theatrical genres of Japan: “bugaku”, “noh” and “kabuki”. The items being exhibit include diverse masks, costumes and reading easels for scrolls.