Woman in a Black Kimono
Judging from her garments and hairstyle, this woman, posed alone against a blank background, is probably the daughter or young wife of a wealthy merchant family. The black kimono nicely offsets the white obi decorated with spring flower motifs. The cuffs and hems of the undergarment add elements of visual frisson in an otherwise elegant and subdued painting.
Katsukawa Shunshō is perhaps better known for his prints of Kabuki actors, which he started producing in about 1765; he and his pupils dominated this area of print production for a generation. Later in his career he achieved renown for his meticulously rendered paintings of beauties. The use of a distinctive handwritten seal (kaō) allows the painting to be dated to the mid to late 1780s.
Katsukawa Shunshō is perhaps better known for his prints of Kabuki actors, which he started producing in about 1765; he and his pupils dominated this area of print production for a generation. Later in his career he achieved renown for his meticulously rendered paintings of beauties. The use of a distinctive handwritten seal (kaō) allows the painting to be dated to the mid to late 1780s.
Artwork Details
- 勝川春章筆 立姿美人図
- Title: Woman in a Black Kimono
- Artist: Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese, 1726–1792)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 1783–89
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
- Dimensions: Image: 33 1/2 × 11 1/4 in. (85.1 × 28.6 cm)
Overall with mounting: 67 11/16 × 15 7/8 in. (172 × 40.4 cm)
Overall with knobs: 67 11/16 × 17 13/16 in. (172 × 45.2 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
- Object Number: 2015.300.139
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章
Zuga Kankō-kai
1916 (reprint edition)
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章
1795 (Kansei 7)
Returned to lender
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章
1780–81
Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章
Butsumo Keisen
painting:1770−80; inscription: 1820s–30s
Japan
16th century
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