琴風舎豊麿筆　見立寒山拾得図|Courtesans Parodying Kanzan and Jittoku

Kinpūsha Toyomaro

late 18th–early 19th century · Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on paper · Asian Art

At first glance, the scene appears to simply show two gorgeously garbed and coiffed courtesans in natural poses, one with a brush and paper and one holding a broom as she toys with a hairpin. But things are not always as they seem in such paintings of the pleasure quarters. The juxtaposition of two figures, one with a broom and the other with a handscroll, immediately calls to mind the Zen-painting theme of the madcap monks Kanzan and Jittoku (Chinese: Hanshan and Shide) who lived in Tang China. They had a reputation for rebelling against the conformity of social norms, and Kanzan was famous for his “Cold Mountain” poems. Kinpūsha Toyomaro was a pupil of Kitagawa Utamaro (1753?–1806), who created paintings of female beauties and drew illustrations for popular novels.

Artist

Kinpūsha Toyomaro

Date

late 18th–early 19th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

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