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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 | 374 | Gallery sharp | 6% |
| 14 × 11 in | 272 | Sharp up close | 5% |
| 16 × 12 in | 249 | Sharp up close | nothing |
| 20 × 16 in | 187 | Poster sharp | 6% |
| 24 × 18 in | 166 | Poster sharp | nothing |
| 36 × 24 in | 111 | Fine across a room | 11% |
| 40 × 30 in | 99 | Too soft | nothing |
The ticket
Travelling in a Snowstorm is a woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1797–1861), dated ca. 1830. Woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Size on the museum record: 8 7/10 x 13 5/8 in. (22.1 x 34.6 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its Asian Art collection — Rogers Fund, 1918.
The Met catalogs Travelling in a Snowstorm as a woodblock print; ink and color on paper by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. The museum dates it ca. 1830 (accession JP237, 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 4,000 × 2,994 pixels, which prints about 13.3 × 10.0 in at 300 dpi and 26.7 × 20.0 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Its wide proportions sit naturally over a sofa, console or bed, and the crop figures in the set builder show what a standard frame would trim. 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 4,000 × 2,994 pixels — 12 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 13.3 × 10 in. That is roughly life-size: the woodblock print itself measures about 13.6 × 8.7 in.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.
On the receipt
- Artist
- Utagawa Kuniyoshi
- Date
- ca. 1830
- Medium
- Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Size
- 8 7/10 x 13 5/8 in. (22.1 x 34.6 cm)
- Museum
- The Met · Asian Art
- Accession
- JP237
- License
- Public domain · CC0 1.0
- Source
- Museum record ↗
More Utagawa Kuniyoshi
All 17 →
Asakusa Imadoca. 1840Free · sharp to 12.9 × 9 in at 300 dpi, uncropped
Boys Play-acting a Daimyo Procession19th centuryFree · sharp to 13.3 × 6.4 in at 300 dpi, uncropped
Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Calming the Stormy Sea at Tsunoda in Exile to Sado Island1835–36Free · sharp to 6.4 × 4.2 in at 300 dpi, uncropped
Concise Illustrated Biography of Monk Nichiren: Prayer for Rain Answered at Ryōzengasaki in Kamakura1835–36Free · sharp to 6.4 × 4.5 in at 300 dpi, uncropped