Two Geisha reading from a book

Object Details

• Artist

  Gakutei Harunobu (active ca. 1813-ca. 1868)

• Description

  Kakemono (type yokomono).

• Signatures

  Signature reads: "Gakutei Harunobu".

• Marks

  Seal of Gakutei.

• Inscriptions

  On the upper left corner of the picture are two lines of characters which read:

  On the upper left corner of the picture are two lines of characters which read:

• Label

  Gakutei was a native of Edo who became a poet, painter, and designer of prints, especially privately commissioned surimono. This painting depicts courtesans reading beside a circular window as cherry blossoms fall from trees in full bloom. They read from the book Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness), a classical work by the Japanese Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenko (1283-1350). Among the highest-ranking professional entertainers of the Yoshiwara, the licensed pleasure district of Edo, were women famous not only for their beauty but also for their cultivation of literary pursuits and their knowledge of arts such as calligraphy. The influence of Hokusai's style is apparent in the poses of the women and the crenellated details of the edges of their costumes.

• Provenance

  To 1898

  Edward S. Hull Jr., New York, to 1898 [1]

  From 1898 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Edward S. Hull Jr. in 1898 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Kakemono List, L. 127, as well as Voucher No. 27, February 1898, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Edward S. Hull Jr. was Ernest Francisco Fenollosa’s (1853-1908) lawyer. Hull often acted as an agent, facilitating purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa, as well as purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa's

  well-known associate, Bunshichi Kobayashi (see correspondence, Hull to Freer, 1898-1900, as well as invoices from E.S. Hull Jr., 1898-1900, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives). See also, Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pgs. 15 and 34. See further, Thomas Lawton and Linda Merrill, Freer: A Legacy of Art, (Washington, DC and New York: Freer Gallery of Art and H. N. Abrams, 1993), pgs. 133-134.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Artists of Edo (November 19, 2005 to May 29, 2006)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Edward S. Hull Jr. (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1900s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Hull, Edward S., Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Reading, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Geisha, Ukiyo-e, Cherry blossom, Spring

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings