Shells
1970s
Casa De Campo, Dominican Republic
The beach at Casa Playita
This feature explores drawings and prints created by Janet Ruttenberg at Casa Playita, as well as the art she collected there. A shared focus on a seashell motif illustrates the layered conversation between the artist, the surroundings of her Dominican seaside retreat, and the legacy of masters who shaped her vision.
View of Casa Playita, n.d., Image courtesy of Janet Ruttenberg studio
Shells under Water, Kitagawa Utamaro, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 1790
The Ruttenbergs visited Casa Playita from the late 1960s until the early 80s. There, Janet styled the home with woodblock prints by Japanese master Kitagawa Utamaro. These pages come from one of his kyōka-ehon, a late Edo-period book format that paired classical waka poetry with image. One poem, written in the fourth vertical column from the right, reads: “From the distant shore, only the sound of shells can be heard.”
Always attuned to the material conservation of fragile works on paper like these, Janet protected the woodblock prints from sunlight by covering them with blue and white dish towels, viewing them only at night by candlelight.
Girls Playing a Game with Shells, Kitagawa Utamaro, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, 1790
In one highlight from Ruttenberg's art collection at Casa Playita, Utamaro’s Girls Playing a Game with Shells, the Japanese master depicts Kai-awase, the Shell-Matching game. Kai-awase dates back to the Heian period (794–1185), when it became a popular pastime at the imperial court. In the traditional version of this game, pairs of clam shells are split, and the goal is for players to match exact halves.
The living room at Casa Playita
Takashima Ohisa Using Two Mirrors to Observe Her Coiffure, Kitagawa Utamaro, 1795. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession No. JP2317. This artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Open Access).
The Coiffure, after Mary Cassatt, Janet Ruttenberg, 1975
Utamaro’s influence is evident in the work of both Mary Cassatt and Janet Ruttenberg. His Takashima Ohisa Using Two Mirrors to Observe Her Coiffure (1795, Metropolitan Museum of Art) directly inspired Cassatt’s La Coiffure (1891). Like Ruttenberg, Cassatt may have owned an original Utamaro print and is known to have studied his work closely, adapting the style of his woodblock prints to her preferred medium of copper plate etching. Between 1975 and 1977, Ruttenberg and collaborator Sue Fuller recreated Cassatt's La Coiffure using soft-ground etching—a favorite technique of Cassatt's and one that Ruttenberg used throughout her printmaking practice as well.