Katsukawa Sunsho – Woman and Cherry Blossoms

Description

Woman and Cherry Blossoms
by Katsukawa Shunsho (1726-1792) Hekone Art Museum

The great interest in Edo (the old name for Tokyo) in picturcs of feminine beauties resulted in a large number of artists specializing in this genre, each striving to give his work unique character-istics, Katsukawa Shunsho at first specialized in actors’ portraits, but late in life switched to Ukiyoe paintings of beauties, and soon he had no peer in the polish of his technique and his ability to evoke mood, and charm the viewer.

He preferred to show in his paintings the beauty of genue, slender women. Shunsho painted his backgrounds with great care, so that the beauty of the women in his paintings could be appreciated in the right setting. This picture of a housewife in a sober-colored kimono and obi, leaning, sunk in thought, on the sill of a window while outside cherry blossoms proclaim that it is spring, has a wistful charm heightening the mature beauty of the woman’s face.