Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Beauties of the Four Seasons

A full catalogue of the Ashmolean’s collection of Japanese bijinga (beautiful women) prints by Mitsuko Watanabe (published Oxford, 2005).

Beauties of the Four Seasons by Mitsuko Watanabe

Publications online: 54 objects

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The Courtesan Kisegawa of the Matsubaya

  • Literature notes

    Kitagawa Utamaro as a pupil of Toriyama Sekien (1712-88) of the Kano School. The leading characteristic of Utamaro’s bijinga was the innovative portraiture that differed from Kiyonaga’s bijinga but was as equally influential on artists as on the public. Utamaro's bijinga portrayed women, illustrate details of character, mood and expression with a delicate touch.

    In this bust portrait the Courtesan Kisegawa II from the Matsuba-ya House is looking to her left, putting the tips of her fingers under her chin, while holding a fan in her right hand. The small image in the circular cartouche top right gives a clue to the identity of the beauty (matsuba pine needles; ya arrow; kise(ru) pipe). This was a way of secretly referring to particular beauties, when the regulation of 1796 was imposed, that the name of women should not be mentioned on prints. The uchiwa-e (decoration on a non-folding fan) is purple morning glory which suggests early autumn. Both the fan and the white undergarment of her kimono are embossed in the method known as gauffrage, and her collar is printed with mica.

    The seal following his signature on this print, which reads 'honke' was Utamaro’s way of authenticating his own work.
  • Details

    Series
    Comparing the Charms of Five Beauties
    Associated place
    AsiaJapanHonshūKantōTōkyō prefecture Tōkyō (place of creation)
    AsiaJapanHonshūKantōTōkyō prefecture Tōkyō (place of publication)
    Date
    c. 1796
    Artist/maker
    Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753 - 1806) (designer)
    Associated people
    Ōmiya Gonkurō (active c. 1794 - c. 1812) (publisher)
    Matsubaya Kisegawa II (active late 18th century) (subject)
    Material and technique
    nishiki-e (multi-block) woodblock print, with gauffrage, printed with water-based vegetable pigments and mica
    Dimensions
    mount 55.5 x 40.5 cm (height x width)
    print 36.5 x 25.3 cm (height x width)
    Material index
    inorganicstone mica
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Presented by Mrs Allan and Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding, 1952.
    Accession no.
    EAX.4721
  • Further reading

    Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 24 August-30 November 2005, Beauties of the Four Seasons, Mitsuko Watanabe, ed. (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2005), no. 10 on p. 20, pp. xiii & 30, illus. p. 21

Glossary (3)

gauffrage, nishiki-e, vegetable pigments

  • gauffrage

    Decorative embossing technique. In Japanese prints, it is also sometimes called 'blind printing'.

  • nishiki-e

    Nishiki-e literally means 'brocade pictures' and refers to multi-coloured woodblock prints.

  • vegetable pigments

    Vegetable pigments were used to create coloured dyes for Japanese prints, paintings, and textiles. These pigments often faded over time due to the chemical reactions they underwent.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • Beauties of the Four Seasons by Mitsuko Watanabe

    Beauties of the Four Seasons

    Kitagawa Utamaro as a pupil of Toriyama Sekien (1712-88) of the Kano School. The leading characteristic of Utamaro’s bijinga was the innovative portraiture that differed from Kiyonaga’s bijinga but was as equally influential on artists as on the public. Utamaro's bijinga portrayed women, illustrate details of character, mood and expression with a delicate touch.

    In this bust portrait the Courtesan Kisegawa II from the Matsuba-ya House is looking to her left, putting the tips of her fingers under her chin, while holding a fan in her right hand. The small image in the circular cartouche top right gives a clue to the identity of the beauty (matsuba pine needles; ya arrow; kise(ru) pipe). This was a way of secretly referring to particular beauties, when the regulation of 1796 was imposed, that the name of women should not be mentioned on prints. The uchiwa-e (decoration on a non-folding fan) is purple morning glory which suggests early autumn. Both the fan and the white undergarment of her kimono are embossed in the method known as gauffrage, and her collar is printed with mica.

    The seal following his signature on this print, which reads 'honke' was Utamaro’s way of authenticating his own work.
  • Beauties of the Four Seasons by Mitsuko Watanabe

    Beauties of the Four Seasons

    Kitagawa Utamaro as a pupil of Toriyama Sekien (1712-88) of the Kano School. The leading characteristic of Utamaro’s bijinga was the innovative portraiture that differed from Kiyonaga’s bijinga but was as equally influential on artists as on the public. Utamaro's bijinga portrayed women, illustrate details of character, mood and expression with a delicate touch.

    In this bust portrait the Courtesan Kisegawa II from the Matsuba-ya House is looking to her left, putting the tips of her fingers under her chin, while holding a fan in her right hand. The small image in the circular cartouche top right gives a clue to the identity of the beauty (matsuba pine needles; ya arrow; kise(ru) pipe). This was a way of secretly referring to particular beauties, when the regulation of 1796 was imposed, that the name of women should not be mentioned on prints. The uchiwa-e (decoration on a non-folding fan) is purple morning glory which suggests early autumn. Both the fan and the white undergarment of her kimono are embossed in the method known as gauffrage, and her collar is printed with mica.

    The seal following his signature on this print, which reads 'honke' was Utamaro’s way of authenticating his own work.
Notice

Object information may not accurately reflect the actual contents of the original publication, since our online objects contain current information held in our collections database. Click on 'buy this publication' to purchase printed versions of our online publications, where available, or contact the Jameel Study Centre to arrange access to books on our collections that are now out of print.

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