The Courtesans, from the Series, "Seiro Bijin Awase Carver End Shigoro"
Original title: The Courtesans, from the Series, "Seiro Bijin Awase Carver End Shigoro" (sic.)
kurzbeschreibung
A courtesan stands alone in this print: Suzuki Harunobu's 'The Courtesans' from the series 'Seiro Bijin Awase', made around 1765, shows a woman in traditional Japanese dress. The image is printed as a woodblock in ink and colour on paper, and her bearing is composed and still.
Description
A kimono in soft tones of pink, orange and brown wraps the woman, whose hair is pinned up and set with an ornament. Her right hand holds a fan; she looks slightly to the left, and her face stays calm and thoughtful. The ground behind her is left empty, so nothing distracts from the figure. Japanese characters run down the right and left sides, giving the title or a description. The layout is plain and clear, with the figure at its centre.
Context
Suzuki Harunobu ranks among the important woodblock artists of the Edo period and is regarded as a pioneer of multicolour printing (nishiki-e). The series 'Seiro Bijin Awase' appeared around 1765, in a phase when pictures of courtesans were hugely popular in ukiyo-e. Prints like this often served as calendars or were made for private use.
Impact
The pastel palette and the figure's quiet posture give the sheet an air of elegance and calm grace. With every accessory stripped away and only the single figure left, the beauty of the kimono and the delicate linework stand out clearly, a hallmark of Harunobu's style.
Technique
Ink and colour were printed on paper for this sheet, using the woodblock method. Crisp contours and gentle colour transitions define the multicolour print, for which several woodblocks were used to carry the different colours.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)