Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770) - Lot 2

Lot n° 2
Go to lot
Estimation :
6000 - 8000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 14 881EUR
Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770) - Lot 2
Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770) Chuban tate-e, Couple in confidence. Signed Suzuki Harunobu ga. 1767 (Restoration). Dim. 27,2 x 20,7 cm At first glance, the amateur viewer might see two young women in confidence. However, the person on the right is a young man, recognizable by the shorn area of his head and his forward-knotted bun. This drawing surely refers to the opening scene of the play Shinjū Ten no Amijima or Shinjūten no Amijima, which features the tragic love story of Koharu, a young prostitute, and Kamiya Jihei, the paper merchant, who is married to Osan. In a letter, Osan urges Koharu to stop seeing her husband. After many exchanges, the two lovers finally break up and reluctantly send each other their old love letters. The piece of paper in the fold of the man's kimono alludes to these letters. The play ends, unsurprisingly, with drama and death, as the title suggests. This print is featured in the exhibition The Riddles of Ukiyo-e. Women and Men in Japanese Prints 1765-1865, Japan Museum SieboldHuis, Leiden, 2023. Reproduced in the exhibition catalog, pp. 18-19 References Chiba City Museum of Art & Hagi Uragami Museum of Art, eds. Seishun no ukiyo-eshi Suzuki Harunobu - Edo no kararisuto tōjō/Suzuki Harunobu, Ukiyo-e artist of the springtime of youth (2002) p. 203 A similar example in the British Museum, London, Museum number 1937,0710,0.13
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue