Courtesan and Maid
date: label: Date
content: 1769-1825
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Utagawa Toyokuni I 歌川豊国 (1769-1825)
notes: label: Description
content: Geisha and Maid: waiting on landing for a boat.
label: Signatures
content: To the lower right is a signature [Jap] "Utagawa Toyokuni ga" (Painted by Utagawa Toyokuni.)
label: Marks
content: Two seals below the signature at lower right.
label: Label
content: The image of a courtesan and attendant waiting for a boat at the end of a pier is a popular subject in prints and paintings depiciting the world of Edo period (1615-1868) entertainment. Pleasure boats plied the waterways of Edo (present-day Tokyo) and other cities. The Sumida River, the likely setting for this painting, ran from north to south in eastern Edo and was connected to the heart of the city by numerous canals. In the warm seasons, courtesans joined clients for frolicsome evenings on specially outfitted boats.
label: Label
content: Toyokuni is perhaps best known for his kabuki actor prints of the 1790s. Inspired by the success of Toshusai Sharaku (fl.1794-95), who introduced dramatic bust portraits on mica background, Toyokuni created a wildly popular series of actor prints that featured attenuated, elegant figures set against light gray backgrounds. The image seen here gains much of its force through the purposeful contrast achieved in placing the lantern and women's heads against the dark evening sky.
label: Provenance
content: To 1903
label: Provenance
content: Yamanaka & Company, New York, NY, to 1903 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1903 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in March 1903 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, pg. 74, L. 310, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Surveying the Collections: Poets and Parties (July 2, 2000 to February 4, 2001)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art—Paintings, Pottery (August 18, 1967 to September 20, 1971)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 3 and 4 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: geisha
label: Topic
content: boat
label: Topic
content: courtesan
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: kakemono
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1903.72
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Color and gold on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 96.5 × 40.4 cm (38 × 15 7/8 in)