Early Evening at a Yoshiwara Inn
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This painting looks into the interior of a teahouse (ageya) in the Yoshiwara, the licensed pleasure quarter on the outskirts of the city of Edo. When a patron sought the services of a high-ranking courtesan there, she would be summoned to meet him at an ageya where they would dine and spend the night together.
The quality of the brushwork in this painting is evident in many of the details. Fine gold lines define and decorate many of the kimonos, and the overall attention to detail is remarkable. Moronobu produced many handscrolls and paintings of the customs of the Yoshiwara, but the skilled draftsmanship here suggests that the artist painted this work in response to a special commission from a wealthy patron.
The quality of the brushwork in this painting is evident in many of the details. Fine gold lines define and decorate many of the kimonos, and the overall attention to detail is remarkable. Moronobu produced many handscrolls and paintings of the customs of the Yoshiwara, but the skilled draftsmanship here suggests that the artist painted this work in response to a special commission from a wealthy patron.
Artwork Details
- Title: Early Evening at a Yoshiwara Inn
- Artist: Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (Japanese, 1618–1694)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: ca. 1672–89
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: Image: 13 × 31 3/8 in. (33 × 79.7 cm)
Overall with mounting: 50 × 36 7/8 in. (127 × 93.6 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by Feinberg Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art