Courtesan and Maid

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Toyokuni I 歌川豊国 (1769-1825)

• Description

  Geisha and Maid: waiting on landing for a boat.

• Signatures

  To the lower right is a signature [Jap] "Utagawa Toyokuni ga" (Painted by Utagawa Toyokuni.)

• Marks

  Two seals below the signature at lower right.

• Label

  The image of a courtesan and attendant waiting for a boat at the end of a pier is a popular subject in prints and paintings depiciting the world of Edo period (1615-1868) entertainment. Pleasure boats plied the waterways of Edo (present-day Tokyo) and other cities. The Sumida River, the likely setting for this painting, ran from north to south in eastern Edo and was connected to the heart of the city by numerous canals. In the warm seasons, courtesans joined clients for frolicsome evenings on specially outfitted boats.

  Toyokuni is perhaps best known for his kabuki actor prints of the 1790s. Inspired by the success of Toshusai Sharaku (fl.1794-95), who introduced dramatic bust portraits on mica background, Toyokuni created a wildly popular series of actor prints that featured attenuated, elegant figures set against light gray backgrounds. The image seen here gains much of its force through the purposeful contrast achieved in placing the lantern and women's heads against the dark evening sky.

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Yamanaka & Company, New York, NY, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in March 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 and Makimono List, pg. 74, L. 310, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [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

  Surveying the Collections: Poets and Parties (July 2, 2000 to February 4, 2001)

  Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)

  Japanese Art—Paintings, Pottery (August 18, 1967 to September 20, 1971)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 3 and 4 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (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)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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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, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Boats and boating, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Geisha, Courtesan, Ukiyo-e, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings