Woman stretching cloth to dry; two children at play

Object Details

• Artist

  Hanabusa Itcho 英一蝶 (1652-1724)

• Label

  One boy chases another beneath a long piece of light blue cloth as a young woman stretches the fabric with sticks to smooth it as it dries. The fabric is attached to a branch of a willow tree that has just begun to show green leaves in spring. The artist Hanabusa Itcho, a native of Osaka, received his artistic training in the traditional Kano school, but he preferred the subjects of daily life and leisure that were popular among patrons of the merchant class. This small, informal painting combines Itcho's technical mastery with perceptive, often humorous observation of contemporary life. This scene reads almost as a modern snapshot; it captures a playful moment in the midst of a mundane task.

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in Japan in 1903 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Kakemono List, L. 324, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. For information regarding purchase location, see Accession List.

  [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

  Life and Leisure: Everyday Life in Japanese Art (August 14, 2004 to February 20, 2005)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

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

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Matsuki, Bunkio

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Playing, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ukiyo-e, Children, Woman, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings