Artwork
Shirabyōshi Dancer and Female Servant; Courtesan and Girl Attendant
Shirabyōshi Dancer and Female Servant; Courtesan and Girl Attendant is an unspecified painting by the Ukiyo-e artist Tsukioka Settei. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1750 by the Edo‑period painter Tsukioka Settei, this hanging scroll depicts two pairs of women arranged against a flat gold backdrop. The work is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Each pair consists of a taller, elaborately dressed figure accompanied by a smaller attendant, forming a balanced composition that draws the eye across the surface.
Subject & Meaning
The larger women are dressed in richly patterned robes of red‑white and dark green‑red, suggesting roles as professional entertainers—likely a shirabyōshi dancer and a courtesan. Their attendants, one bearing a lantern and the other kneeling with a fan, emphasize the hierarchical relationship between performer and servant, a common motif in ukiyo‑e depictions of urban pleasure quarters.
Technique & Style
Settei employs bold, saturated pigments that contrast sharply with the luminous gold ground, a technique typical of mid‑eighteenth‑century Japanese painting. The intricate textile patterns are rendered with fine brushwork, while the figures are outlined with delicate lines that convey both elegance and movement. The flat background eliminates depth, focusing attention on costume and gesture.
History & Provenance
The scroll entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection in the early twentieth century, acquired through a private donation. Its attribution to Settei is based on stylistic analysis and comparison with other signed works by the artist, confirming its place within his oeuvre of genre scenes portraying courtly and theatrical life.
Artist & collection
Artist
Tsukioka Settei (月岡 雪鼎, 1710 – 22 January 1787) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist. Settei was born in Ōmi Province and studied painting in Osaka in the style of the Kanō school under Takada Keiho. He was strongly influenced…
