Courtesan in Night Attire Standing on a Verandah

Suzuki Harunobu

1 of 3

Object Label

A young woman’s slumping posture indicates that she is dejected. On the paper screen behind her are the faint shadows of musicians, indicating that she has left a party to be alone. Knowing Harunobu’s tendency to hide literary references in his designs, scholars have suggested that this image refers to a well-known Japanese story about a beloved mirror, a female outcaste, and a cursed bell, which are represented by the stone basin full of reflective water, the lonely beauty, and the dipper (which is shaped like a mallet used to strike a bell). The story tells of the woe that comes to people who are greedy or overly attached to worldly things.

Caption

Suzuki Harunobu Japanese, 1724–1770. Courtesan in Night Attire Standing on a Verandah, ca. 1767. Color woodblock print on paper, Sheet: 10 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (27.3 x 21.0 cm) Image: 10 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. (26.7 x 21.0 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund, 45.158.1. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 45.158.1_IMLS_PS3.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Title

Courtesan in Night Attire Standing on a Verandah

Date

ca. 1767

Period

Edo Period

Geography

Place made: Japan

Medium

Color woodblock print on paper

Classification

Print

Dimensions

Sheet: 10 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (27.3 x 21.0 cm) Image: 10 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. (26.7 x 21.0 cm)

Signatures

Harunobu ga

Credit Line

Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund

Accession Number

45.158.1

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

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