Kume No Sennin and a Beauty

Author Utagawa Toyoharu 歌川豊春 (Japanese, 1735–1814)

Artist Ota Nanpo (Japanese, 1749 - 1823)

Date1755–1814

Mediumink and opaque color on paper, hanging scroll

Dimensions185.6 x 72.7 cm (73 1/16 x 28 5/8 in.)
Overall1: 127.9 x 56.4 cm (50 3/8 x 22 3/16 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift from the estate of John Chandler Bancroft

Object number1901.1337

DescriptionPoems/inscriptions by Ota Nanpo (also known as Yomo sanjin, Yomo no Akara Kyokaen, Shokusanjin, 1749-1823)
Label TextKume no Sennin is a Japanese Immortal, a supernatural being who possesses the ability to levitate. Depicted here in the customary manner, he is falling down from the clouds, dumbstruck by the reflection of a pretty laundry-girl's legs in a stream. In the usual ukiyo-e manner, the painting parodies the legend and makes it au courant by putting a contemporary beauty in the place of the laundress. Kyoka (comic verse) by two members of the well-known Yomo group of comic poets are written on the painting and make humorous reference to the lecherous Immortal. The title and the artist's name is written on the back of the painting, but it may be a later addition. The painting is attributed to Toyoharu on the basis of the style. One of the most important ukiyo-e artists of the late eighteenth century, he was and accomplished painter. The proportions of the figures and the treatment of the faces are characteristic of his work. As a print designer, Toyoharu is credited with developing the landscape perspective picture (uki-e) and incorporating Western techniques.ProvenanceEstate of John Chandler Bancroft, Boston MA

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