Artwork preview

Courtesan and Attendant with a Cage of Fireflies

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image depicts a traditional Japanese woodblock print. Two women are shown in traditional Japanese kimonos, one taller than the other. The taller woman holds a lantern in her right hand and has her hair styled up with pins. She wears a kimono with a brown and beige color scheme and a red lining. The smaller woman wears a kimono with a similar color scheme and holds a small, square box. The background shows a room with a tatami mat floor and a low table or bench. Two large paper lanterns hang from the ceiling, and a pillar with Japanese writing is visible on the right. The room's walls are beige, and there are hanging decorations. The print has a beige border around it, and a gray and black color gradient bar is on the left side. Japanese characters are written vertically on the right side of the print and at the bottom left.

Artwork details

Date:
ca. 1770
Medium:
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Culture:
Japan
Dimensions:
359 × 624 px
Museum record:
View original
Palette