Katsushika Hokusai, Courtesan
Gift of Charles Lang Freer · National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Open Access (CC0)View original →
Katsushika Hokusai

Courtesan

ca. 1796-1798

Current Collection

National Museum of Asian Art

Washington, D.C., United States

Medium
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
71.4 × 24.2 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-122890

The woman portrayed in this early painting by Hokusai holds the edge of her garment in her mouth, a gesture that signifies passion, perhaps inspired by the love letter she clutches in her right hand. Her sinuous pose, curved like a reversed "S", is highly stylized and closely resembles the pose portrayed in The Princess from the Land of Porcelain, painted by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) and…

Provenance

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Registry history

  • ca. 1796-1798 — Recorded in the collection of National Museum of Asian Art

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