What is the largest sharp print size for New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara?

At 300 dpi, this 3,913 × 1,245 px file prints up to 13 × 4.2 in with gallery-sharp detail. At 150 dpi the file reaches 26.1 × 8.3 in, which is poster-sharp quality.

Which standard frame sizes give gallery-sharp prints of New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara?

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

Does printing New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara require cropping the image?

Standard frame aspect ratios may not match this artwork exactly; depending on the size chosen, up to 60% of the image could be cropped. Most print-on-demand services let you adjust the crop position or add a white mat border instead.

New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara — Katsushika Hokusai | Free high-res download

New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara

Katsushika Hokusai · ca. 1804 · The Met, New York

Public domain · CC0 · $0.003,913 × 1,245 px · 4.9 MP

Prints gallery-sharp up to13 × 4.2 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 26.1 × 8.3 in at 150 dpi

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

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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
10 × 8 in	155	Poster sharp	60%
14 × 11 in	113	Fine across a room	60%
16 × 12 in	103	Fine across a room	58%
20 × 16 in	77	Too soft	60%
24 × 18 in	69	Too soft	58%
36 × 24 in	51	Too soft	52%
40 × 30 in	41	Too soft	58%

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

New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara is a woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo)), dated ca. 1804. Pentaptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper. Size on the museum record: Oban, pentaptych: 14 15/32 x 48 1/2 in. (36.8 x 123.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its Asian Art collection — Rogers Fund, 1914.

New Year's Day at the Ōgiya Brothel, Yoshiwara is a pentaptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper by Katsushika Hokusai, part of The Met's open-access collection. The museum dates it ca. 1804 (accession JP29a–e, 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 3,913 × 1,245 pixels, which prints about 13.0 × 4.2 in at 300 dpi and 26.1 × 8.3 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Because it runs wide, it wants a horizontal frame; check the crop percentage for each size before you commit. Its muted earth tones are forgiving: natural wood softens the palette, walnut deepens it and black frames it like a gallery. 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 3,913 × 1,245 pixels — 4.9 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 13 × 4.2 in. The woodblock print itself measures about 48.5 × 14.5 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.