“Geisha” from the series Three Amusements of Contemporary Beauties (Tōsei bijin san’yū: Geigi)

Description

A tall geisha stands at an oblique angle in a long pale kimono with a dark upper drape, an instrument shaft beside her. The nearly empty field gives her elongated figure a clear presence. Kitagawa Utamaro makes the named subject of Three Amusements of Contemporary Beauties a concentrated encounter, where clothing and the accompanying instrument help give the portrayal its particular character.

Dating to around 1800, the woodblock print uses ink and color on paper. It belongs to Edo-period Japan and to a group organized around the theme of women and amusement. The image can be considered in its own right, allowing the figure to carry a particular visual encounter without reducing her to a generalized emblem or inventing an activity not securely documented in the title.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.