Courtesan
Joryu Mihata, Japanese, active 1830 - 1843
mid-19th century
Colored inks
Image: 46 3/16 × 17 15/16 in. (117.3 × 45.5 cm)
Overall: 77 15/16 × 23 3/16 × 1 3/4 in. (198 × 58.9 × 4.5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Elon G. Pratt, Class of 1906
P.947.17
Geography
Place Made: Japan, East Asia, Asia
Period
19th century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, left center:
Label
Mihata Jōryū was renowned for his paintings of beautiful women during the late Edo period. He specialized in portraying the elegant beauty of courtesans, detailing their extravagant accoutrements, voluminous bodies, and subtle emotions. In this painting, Mihata focuses on the courtesan’s kimono. Among the wrinkles of the fabric, the artist incorporated two dragons, freely traversing the dark sky.
Dragons often engaged with the masculine energy of yang, symbolizing activity and animation. By portraying the dragon alongside the female courtesan, embodying feminine yin energy, the artist represents the harmony between these two principles.
From the 2024 exhibition Attitude of Coexistence: Non-Humans in East Asian Art, curated by Haely Chang, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art
Course History
ARTH 65, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Winter 2012
ARTH 64, The Japanese Painting Tradition, Allen Hockley, Spring 2014
ARTH 62.3, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Winter 2019
ARTH 62.30/ASCL 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2022
ARTH 62.30/ASCL 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2022
Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Spring 2023
Art History 62.30, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 62.12, Japanese Prints, Allen Hockley, Summer 2023
Art History 63.02, Why Are Museums...?, Mary Coffey, Spring 2026
Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 51.11, Religion 2.02, Religions of Vietnam, Sara Swenson, Winter 2025
Geography 3.01, Living with Nature, Coleen Fox, Winter 2025
Philosophy 50.18, Animal Minds, Tina Rosenqvist, Winter 2025
Religion 40.08, Fear & Loathing in Religion, MK Long, Winter 2025
Art History 63.02, Why Are Museums…?, Mary Coffey, Spring 2025
Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2025
Italian 2.01, Introductory Italian II, Marco D'Angelo, Spring 2025
Religion 1.13, Sacred Movement, Robert Weiner, Spring 2025
Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 70.24, Asian American Art and Architecture, Sujin Eom, Spring 2025
College Course 26.01, What’s in Your Toolbox?, Casey Aldrich and Mokhtar Bouba, Fall 2025
Comparative Literature 55.03, Asian Societies, Culture, and Language 60.10, Eco-Fiction: Stories of Ghosts and Other Beings from Premodern China, Yiren Zheng, Fall 2025
Special Tour: Attitude of Coexistence and Beyond the Bouquet, Winter 2025
Exhibition History
Attitude of Coexistence: Non-humans in East Asian Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, November 16, 2024-February 24, 2025.
Provenance
Elon Graham Pratt (1883-1964); given to present collection, 1947.
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