Artwork
Courtesan Beside Kimono Rack
Courtesan Beside Kimono Rack is a print by the Romanticist artist Kikukawa Eizan. It dates from 1827 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Courtesan Beside Kimono Rack, created in 1827 by Japanese artist Kikukawa Eizan, is a woodblock print housed in The Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a courtesan in a vibrant green, pink-flowered kimono, accompanied by symbols of elegance: a fan, a rack of folded robes, and a backdrop featuring a scroll with autumnal imagery. These elements convey a sense of refined, private luxury.
Technique & Style
Eizan’s composition balances vibrant color (notably the kimono’s pink flowers) with restrained, elegant lines, characteristic of Edo-period ukiyo-e prints. The courtesan’s attire and hairstyle (high, secured with a black comb) are meticulously detailed.
History & Provenance
Produced in 1827, this work is part of Eizan’s oeuvre within the late Edo period’s ukiyo-e tradition. Its current location is The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Context
This print reflects the ukiyo-e genre’s focus on capturing moments of beauty in everyday life, particularly among the elite and courtesan classes of 19th-century Japan.
Legacy
As part of the ukiyo-e collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art, Courtesan Beside Kimono Rack contributes to the global appreciation of Japanese woodblock printing’s artistic and cultural significance.
Artist & collection
Artist
Kikukawa Eizan was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints. He first studied with his father, Eiji, a minor painter of the Kanō school, and subsequently with Suzuki Nanrei (1775–1844), of the Shijō…
Evening Glow at Seta (Seta sekisho), from the series "Fashionable Eight Views of Omi (Furyu Omi hakkei)"
Untitled
Untitled
The Courtesan Meizan of the Chojiya on a Balcony Overlooking the Sumida River
A Lady-in-Waiting with Waist as Slender as a Willow from the series Flowers and Modern Beauties
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Woman Performing the Tea Ceremony
A Picture of the Viewing in the Pleasure Quarters
