Courtesan Seated on a Bench Enjoying the Evening Cool in Summer

Description

In a pensive pose with her chin resting in her hand, a courtesan is seated on a wooden bench that extends diagonally across the lower half of the scroll. Her open robe suggests that it is a warm evening-perhaps late summer or early fall, as indicated by the grapevine pattern on her kimono. The floral patterns in the composition hint at the seasons: the plum blossom on the fan for spring; grape pattern on the robe for late summer; and chrysanthemum design on the bench indicating autumn. Note also how the grapevine pattern in the painting's mounting mimics the design of her kimono. The overall mood is one of intimacy, created by Hõryþ through the delicate rendering of the courtesan's facial features and hands. In contrast to the other scrolls of beauties nearby, the artist here portrayed his subject with little background, allowing her grace and elegance to carry the picture.

Provenance

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Courtesan Seated on a Bench Enjoying the Evening Cool in Summer

Kamigaki Hōryū

1615–1868

Accession Number

1998.290

Medium

hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Dimensions

Overall: 78 x 31.6 cm (30 11/16 x 12 7/16 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mieko and Sebastian Izzard

Tags

Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Ink Silk Painting Japanese

Background & Context

Background Story

Kamigaki Horyu (active Edo period) was a Japanese painter known for the precisely observed, elegantly composed paintings of courtesan subjects that make him one of the accomplished painters of the Edo period. Courtesan Seated on a Bench Enjoying the Evening Cool in Summer from the Edo period (1615-1868) depicts a courtesan seated on a bench enjoying the evening cool in summer in the precisely observed, elegantly composed manner that distinguishes Kamigaki Horyu's best work from the more general painting of his contemporaries. Courtesan subjects were one of the most important subjects in Edo period painting, and the elegantly composed treatment shows the courtesan painting tradition at its most refined.

Cultural Impact

Courtesan Seated on a Bench Enjoying the Evening Cool in Summer is important in the history of Japanese painting because it demonstrates the precisely observed, elegantly composed manner of the Edo period courtesan painting tradition as practiced by Kamigaki Horyu. Courtesan subjects—representing the beauty and elegance of the pleasure quarters—were one of the most important subjects in Edo period painting, and the 1615-1868 painting shows this tradition at its most precisely observed and elegantly composed.

Why It Matters

Courtesan Seated on a Bench Enjoying the Evening Cool in Summer is Kamigaki Horyu's elegantly composed Edo painting: a courtesan enjoying the evening cool rendered in the precisely observed manner of one of the accomplished painters of the Edo period. The painting shows one of the most important subjects in Edo period painting at its most refined.