hanging scroll;
painting
- Museum number
- 1913,0501,0.397
- Description
-
Hanging scroll. Geisha standing in front of free-standing screen tuning her shamisen; with blue kimono with pattern of small plant fronds scattered around hem and wide brown belt with design of large banana leaves picked out in green; bottom half of screen painted with autumn vine leaves. Ink, colour and gold on paper. Signed and sealed.
- Production date
- 1793-1804
- Dimensions
-
Height: 105 centimetres
-
Width: 42.10 centimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
-
- Curator's comments
-
Clark 1992
Her elongated body arched into a single, sweeping curve, a geisha stands in front of a free-standing screen ('tsuitate') tuning her 'shamisen' and seeming to listen to what is being said on the other side of the screen, before she enters some party group to perform. She wears the slightly sombre ensemble that was customary for geishas - a blue kimono with a pattern of small plant fronds scattered around the hem and a wide brown 'obi' with a design of large banana leaves picked out in green. The bottom half of the screen is painted with autumn vine leaves in Edo Rinpa style, and this is where Toyohiro playfully chooses to place his signature, as if he were the artist of the screen and not of the figure.
The manner of drawing the face and the elongated proportions are highly reminiscent of the mid-late Kansei era (1789-1801) style of Toyokuni, a fellow, but somewhat senior, pupil of Toyoharu, who was much more prolific than Toyohiro at this time. Toyohiro had followed Toyokuni in the style of his paintings from his very first works done probably in the early Kansei era (1789-1801), often signed 'Utagawa Toyohiro'. Later, however, in the Bunka (1804-18) and Bunsei (1818-30) eras Toyohiro's figures would develop their own, much more fragile and idiosyncratic style with long necks and narrow faces.
Literature:
Tokyo-to Bijutsukan (eds), 'Daiei Hakubutsukan hizo Edo bijutsu ten'. Exh. cat., 9 Aug.-24 Sept. 1990, no. 33.
-
Asahi 1996
宴席に出ようとする芸者が衝立の前に佇み、三味線を調律しながら長身をそらせて奥の様子をうかがっている。衣装は芸者の常として地味目で、下草を裾に散らした紺の着物に緑の線で芭蕉の葉を描く茶色の広い帯を取り合わせている。衝立の下半分には琳派風の紅葉した葡萄の葉が描かれており、そこに豊広は、人物ではなく衝立の絵を描いた画家であるかのように、落款を書き込んでいる。
顔や引き伸ばされた身体の描き方は、当時豊広より多作であった同僚豊国の寛政年間中•後期の様式をただちに想起させる。豊広は、ごく若い頃（おそらくは寛政年間初期、作品の多くに「歌川豊広」の落款がある時期）から豊国の画風を追っていた。しかしながら文化年間（1804－18）•文政年間（1818－30）になると、豊広の人物像は、長い首と狭い顔のはかなげで特異な様式を獲得する。
（竹内美砂子（名古屋市博物館））
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1913
- Acquisition notes
- The collection of Japanese and Chinese paintings belonging to Arthur Morrison was purchased by Sir William Gwynne-Evans, who presented it to the British Museum in 1913.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1913,0501,0.397
- Additional IDs
-
Asia painting number: Jap.Ptg.1437 (Japanese Painting Number)
