Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Seated Courtesan with Her Attendant
Kaigetsudō Ando Japanese
Not on view
A courtesan leans against an armrest and engages her young attendant (kamuro) in conversation. Close inspection shows that the kamuro holds a small incense burner from which a thin line of smoke is rising, and the courtesan presents her right hand as though requesting the kamuro to hand it to her.
Kaigetsudō school artists specialized in ukiyo-e paintings of single-figure statuesque beauties. Their work is characterized by modulated brush lines, boldly patterned robes of clear coloration, and nearly rectangular faces with narrow, almond-shaped eyes. They used inexpensive pigments and painted on a paper ground. Their paintings were produced in large numbers, in some cases as souvenirs of a visit to the Yoshiwara. This work is remarkable for being painted on silk and for departing from the standing-figure format of the Kaigetsudō studio.
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