What is the largest sharp print size for “A Famous Courtesan Applying Makeup in Her Boudoir” (Meikun keichū no yosooi)?

At 300 dpi, this 1,340 × 1,970 px file prints up to 4.5 × 6.6 in with gallery-sharp detail. At 150 dpi the file reaches 8.9 × 13.1 in, which is poster-sharp quality.

Which standard frame sizes give gallery-sharp prints of “A Famous Courtesan Applying Makeup in Her Boudoir” (Meikun keichū no yosooi)?

The best frame sizes for this file are 8 × 10 in, 11 × 14 in, 12 × 16 in, printing at 150–299 dpi (poster- to sharp-quality).

“A Famous Courtesan Applying Makeup in Her Boudoir” (Meik… — Kitagawa Utamaro | Free high-res download

Q: Does printing “A Famous Courtesan Applying Makeup in Her Boudoir” (Meikun keichū no yosooi) require cropping the image?

Standard frame aspect ratios may not match this artwork exactly; depending on the size chosen, up to 15% of the image could be cropped. Most print-on-demand services let you adjust the crop position or add a white mat border instead.

“A Famous Courtesan Applying Makeup in Her Boudoir” (Meikun keichū no yosooi)

Kitagawa Utamaro · ca. 1800 · The Met, New York

Public domain · CC0 · $0.001,340 × 1,970 px · 2.6 MP

Prints gallery-sharp up to4.5 × 6.6 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 8.9 × 13.1 in at 150 dpi

The download is the Met's own open-access file, served by the Met. Big file — give it a minute.

Build the wall set

Art, frame, light and hanging gear, picked together. Choose a size and finish; the wall preview shows exactly what you're getting. One button sends the whole kit to your Amazon cart.

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How big can you print it?

Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.

Frame	Effective dpi	Verdict	Crops
8 × 10 in	167	Poster sharp	15%
11 × 14 in	121	Fine across a room	13%
12 × 16 in	111	Fine across a room	9%
16 × 20 in	83	Too soft	15%
18 × 24 in	74	Too soft	9%
24 × 36 in	54	Too soft	2%
30 × 40 in	44	Too soft	9%

Will it fit over your couch? Put this one on your wall, to scale — crop or mat, frame size, hang height and the order.

The ticket

“A Famous Courtesan Applying Makeup in Her Boudoir” (Meikun keichū no yosooi) is a woodblock print by Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754–1806), dated ca. 1800. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. Size on the museum record: Vertical ōban; 14 5/8 × 9 15/16 in. (37.1 × 25.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its Asian Art collection — Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918.

In The Met's records, “A Famous Courtesan Applying Makeup in Her Boudoir” (Meikun keichū no yosooi) is a woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper credited to Kitagawa Utamaro. The museum dates it ca. 1800 (accession JP556, Asian Art). Its flat colour areas and strong outlines hold up from across a room, which is the whole point of the woodblock tradition. The Met's scan measures 1,340 × 1,970 pixels, which prints about 4.5 × 6.6 in at 300 dpi and 8.9 × 13.1 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Its tall proportions suit a hallway, a narrow wall or the gap beside a door, and the set builder shows how much each standard frame would crop. Its warm reds and oranges suit walnut or gold, which deepen the glow instead of washing it out. Woodblock prints were made to be reproduced, so a faithful reprint fits the tradition. Keep the paper tone warm instead of bleaching it to white. A warm picture light a few inches above the frame does more for a print than any paper upgrade, and the hanging centre line belongs near 57 inches.

The Met released its scan under CC0, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 1,340 × 1,970 pixels — 2.6 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 4.5 × 6.6 in. The woodblock print itself measures about 9.9 × 14.6 in, so a true life-size print runs below 300 dpi — still sharp at normal viewing distance.Woodblock prints were made to be printed again and again — a reproduction is in keeping with the whole point of the thing. Keep the paper tone warm. A printer that bleaches the ground to white-white flattens it into clip art.