Summer Flowers: Irises and Water Plantains, from the book "Mirror of Beautiful Women of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bijin awase sugata kagami)," vol. 1
Medium
Color woodblock print; double-page illustration cut from a book
Dimensions
22.6 × 30.2 cm (8 7/8 × 11 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
32180
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo Japan (modern-day Tokyo), Katsukawasho (1726–1792) crafted *Summer Flowers: Irises and Water Plantains*, a double-page color woodblock print from volume 1 of the book *Mirror of Beautiful Women the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bijin awase sugata kagami)*, published in 1776. This work belongs to the ukiyo-e tradition—"pictures of the floating world"—celebrating ephemeral pleasures like theater, fashion, and the courtesans of Yoshiwara, Tokyo's famed pleasure district. Shunsho's mastery shines in his elegant depictions of beauties, often likened to seasonal f...