courtesans and attendants under a plum tree, Utagawa Kunisada

Archive Label date unknown: Kunisada apprenticed in the studio of Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825), an artist known primarily for his actor print designs. Kunisada followed his master's lead in producing a vast array of kabuki actor prints, but also developed a new personal style of bijinga, or "pictures of beautiful women," which gained him even higher regard from print connoisseurs. The bijinga seen in this private, luxury edition are a high-ranking courtesan with her small apprentices (kamurō) and a "newly launched" under-study (shinzō), who is seen in the center of the group. The plum flowers on the branch above refer to the freshness of the young girls, as the plum tree is the first to blossom (as well as the first to fade) in the new year. Archive Label 1988: The art of portraying bijin (beautiful women) has had a long tradition in Japan, with courtesans as the most common subject. Often highly trained and educated, these women wielded considerable power within their limited world of the pleasure quarters. Since they also represented the height of fashion, print designers focused on the courtesans' elaborate hairstyles and gorgeous robes. The woodblock prints here depict three different views of idealized womanhood dictated by the changing tastes of the day. Harunobu's courtesan composing a letter is a frail, childlike woman who kneels before a writing box containing ink brushes and an inkstone. Utamaro's haughty courtesan is the antithesis of Harunobu's sweet maiden. The monumental, full-scale figure fills the entire space of the picture as she lazily stretches in total self-absorption. Her hairstyle is more complex, and her robe is rendered in bold, sweeping lines that create an elegant design. Kunisada's beauties strolling beneath plum trees in the third print assume less idealized proportions, but wear by far the most elaborate costumes. The use of intense colors with silver and gold accents contributes to the suptuousness of the kimono and headdresses.