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Courtesan and Attendant with Umbrella in the Snow

Artist/Maker (Japanese, active ca. 1696–1716)
Date1711–16
MediumWoodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink on paper with hand coloring
DimensionsVertical ōōban; overall: 22 3/16 × 12 5/8 in. (56.4 × 32.1 cm)
Credit LineMary A. Ainsworth Bequest
Object number1950.148
Status
Not on view
More Information
This print depicts a courtesan walking in the snow under an umbrella held by her female attendant. Although the snow on the ground and umbrella are described in a fairly simple way, the swirling, fluid, and rhythmic lines that describe the women’s clothing have a strength and animated expression of the sort Kiyomasu I used in his depictions of kabuki actors. The courtesan’s kimono has a pattern of pine branches covered in snow; her attendant’s clothing combines knotted letters (musubi-fumi 結び文) at the top and plum blossoms, a symbol of spring, at the bottom. Touches of hand-colored red enliven the decorative patterns.
Exhibition History
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan (April 13, 2019 - May 25, 2019 )
  • Shizuoka City Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan (June 8, 2019 - July 28, 2019 )
  • Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan (August 10, 2019 - September 29, 2019 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 14, 2020 - December 6, 2020 )
Collections
  • Asian