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Courtesan and Sleeping Attendant
Harunobu Suzukilate 1760s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
In this print, a courtesan emerges from her bed to find her attendant asleep. As was customary, the courtesan has her obi sash tied at the front, while her servant has hers tied at the back. The strong contrast between the colorful bedclothes and the white of the courtesan’s robe is heightened by the embossing of the fabric folds, lending a three-dimensional effect to her form. The technique involves pressing a carved but unpigmented woodblock against the print surface.
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Details
- Title: Courtesan and Sleeping Attendant
- Creator: Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1724-1770)
- Date Created: late 1760s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 28.1 x 20.1 cm (11 1/16 x 7 15/16 in.)
- Provenance: Henri Vever [1854–1942], France, (Sotheby Parke Bernet, London, UK, March 24, 1977, part III, lot 48), (R. E. Lewis, Inc., California, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith), The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899-1998] given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Print
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.309
- Medium: color woodblock print, with embossing
- Original Title: 遊女と寝る禿
- Inscriptions: Artist's signature: Harunobu ga, Collector's seal: Vever
- Department: Japanese Art
- Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
- Credit Line: The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
- Collection: Japanese Art
- Accession Number: 1985.309
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