Courtesan in Bamboo-Patterned Kimono

It is uncertain if Chikanobu was an independent artist or if this is a pseudonym for a still unidentified ukiyo-e painter working in the Kaigetsudō style. The figure closely follows the style of the Kaigetsudō studio, particularly in the woman’s upright form, the richly modulated brush line, and the bold design of her magnificent kimono. The slight smile on her face, however, lends her a winsome charm not typically found in the grand courtesans painted by this atelier. This woman, probably painted in the 1720s, typified the top class of Yoshiwara courtesans, called oiran, who were icons of sophisticated dress and beauty and set the fashion of their day.

The work is singed “Hakushōken Matsuno Chikanobu zu kore” (Hakushōken Matsuno Chikanobu painted this) and carries an undeciphered round intaglio seal in a square frame. Nothing is known of Chikanobu’s life, but he is regarded as one of the most talented of the artists who worked outside the atelier of the Kaigetsudō in the early eighteenth century.