Estampe japonaise "The Popular Type" par Utagawa Kunisada
Artiste :Utagawa Kunisada
Titre :The Popular Type
Date :about 1822–1823
Détails :Plus d'informations...
Source :Worcester Art Museum
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Description :
Competing with Eisen for popular fame, Kunisada created many outstanding print designs in the 1820s. This print from the series A Contemporary Thirty-two Physiognomies is a good example of his skilled attention to composition, detail and quality printing. The “popular type” woman is depicted seated, checking her make-up in a hand-mirror. She holds a cosmetic brush in her right hand, upraised as she smoothes the right eyebrow with her little finger; the elbow rests on a towel draped across her knee. The dragonfly ornament on her hairpin is a reference to a popular slang metaphor: a dragonfly was said to fly with its head pointing north and therefore became a symbol for men who frequented the Yoshiwara, the northern pleasure quarters.
