- Gallery Text
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A courtesan pores over a sheet of poetry paper as she considers what to write. Above her float the words of a love poem, inscribed in the masculine hand of Edo poet Kikuchi Gozan (1769–1849):
Thinking of you, compelled to compose
a verse.
Under the lamplight, writing through the night,
of our lost years.
Is this the poem to which she is crafting a reply? Or has she herself adopted a male voice? Utamaro revolutionized the portrayal of the psychological state of floating-world women, the vast majority of whom were indentured to their "houses" (brothels) by contract, from which a fortunate few might hope to be bought out by a wealthy client. Here, in a surprising twist, the woman’s contemplative gaze is met by the golden-yellow eyes of the muscular carp that looks up at her from the pool of her sumptuously decorated robes.
- Identification and Creation
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- Object Number
- TL42147.16
- People
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Kitagawa Utamaro, Japanese (d. 1806)
- Title
- Seated Beauty
- Classification
- Paintings
- Work Type
- painting, hanging scroll
- Date
- c. 1800–02
- Places
- Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
- Period
- Edo period, 1615-1868
- Culture
- Japanese
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/362146
- Location
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Level 3, Room 3500, Special Exhibitions Gallery
View this object's location on our interactive map - Physical Descriptions
-
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
- Dimensions
- painting proper: H. 51.8 × W. 32 cm (20 3/8 × 12 5/8 in.)
overall mounting, including roller ends and suspension cord: H. 139 × W. 46.8 cm (54 3/4 × 18 7/16 in.)
- Acquisition and Rights
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- Credit Line
- Promised gift of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg
- Object Number
- TL42147.16
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
- Publication History
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Rachel Saunders, "Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection", Orientations, Orientations Magazine (Hong Kong, January/February 2020), vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 20-33, p. 25, fig. 5
- Exhibition History
- Subjects and Contexts
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Google Art Project
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This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu