Kikugawa Eizan. Elegant Summer Scenes / Ōban, 1810-19.

Artist: Kikugawa Eizan [菊川英山] (Japanese, 1787–1867)

Signed: 英山筆 (Eizan hitsu)

Publisher: Suzuki Ihei (鈴木伊兵衛) (fl. c. 1810–1819); seal Suzui (鈴伊); Marks 04-028 | 502

Censor: kiwame

Title: 同流夏景圖 (Fūryū Natsukei-zu, Elegant Summer Scenes)

Date: no seal

Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper; Vertical ōban (372 × 252 mm)

Genre: Bijin-ga (美人画)

Provenance: Henri Vever (French, 1854–1942); Collector’s mark: H. VEVER

A standing courtesan gazes over her shoulder, elegantly posed on a wooden veranda. She leans slightly backward, supporting herself with both hands placed firmly on the railing. She wears a pale kimono patterned with floral motifs and checker designs, tied with a deep black obi. Her hair is arranged in a voluminous coiffure adorned with ornamental combs and hairpins. Behind her, translucent shōji screens reveal the silhouettes of two companions within, conversing. The setting includes a manicured garden with clipped pine shrubs, and beyond the veranda, a lake view framed by distant hills and pines.

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