Courtesan Looking at Blooming Bush Clover

Artist Isoda Koryūsai 磯田湖龍齋 (Japanese, 1735–about 1790)

Dateabout 1773

Mediumwoodblock print, ink and color on paper; nishiki-e; hashira-e

Dimensions68.6 x 11.5 cm (27 x 4 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Object number1901.59.2794

DescriptionA courtesan has stepped out to get fresh air. She stands upon the engawa of the seiro and is looking at a hagi (bush clover) plant in full bloom in the garden below. She wears a kimono of dull violet hue with a pattern of snow-ladden willow branches. Her obi is of green and beni (rouge)
Label TextIsoda Koryusai (1735-90) Courtesan Looking at Blooming Bush Clover About 1773 Signed: Koryu ga (drawn by Koryu) Woodblock print, ink and color on paper; nishiki-e; hashira-e John Chandler Bancroft Collection, 1901.59.2794 A courtesan, dressed in a kimono patterned with snow-covered weeping-willow branches, exits on the corridor veranda (engawa) of a pleasure house. She takes a quiet moment to admire the bush clover (hagi), one of the "Seven Grasses of Autumn," blooming in the garden. Her elegant pose and trailing hems, as well as the delicate blossoms and the inclusion of stylized clouds, infuse the print with references to classical art and poetry. The opened sliding door (shoji) and its translucent paper give the viewer an additional, intimate glimpse of the striped kimono and faint silhouette of theProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft, Boston, MA

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