梅翁軒永春筆　立姿遊女図|Standing Courtesan

Baiōken Eishun

probably 1720s · Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk · Asian Art

Baiōken Eishun was among the ukiyo-e artists specializing in paintings of courtesans of the pleasure quarters in the style popularized by artists of the Kaigetsudō studio. He even prefaced his signature with Yamato-e, in the same way Kaigetsudō artists did, to assert that his style of painting was in the distinguished “Japanese-style painting” associated with courtly tastes. Here, a patron or a courtesan has inscribed a poem to add a level of sexual suggestiveness: Though I didn’t say I was retiring for the night still she loosens her sash. She reads my thoughts, bringing tears to my eyes. —Trans. Miyeko Murase

Artist

Baiōken Eishun

Date

probably 1720s

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015