kanbun bijin　寛文美人

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Lit. beauties of the Kanbun 寛文 era (1661-73). A generic and recently coined term for paintings of beautiful women and men, in particular, courtesans during the later half of the 17c. By the middle of the 17c, the growth of towns people as patrons of genre painting *fuuzokuga 風俗画 and the emergence of depictions of courtesans in the painting of burgeoning pleasure quarters *yuuraku-zu 遊楽図 gave birth to the "portrait" type known as kanbun bijin, which reached its apogee in the Kanbun era. A new kind of feminine beauty, emphasizing an almost tangible sensuality was usually evoked by focusing on a single standing figure abstracted from any background, hitoridachi bijin 一人立美人, and painted with attention to silhouette, rhythmic sweep of line, rich color, as well as depicting gorgeous kimono 着物, fashionable hair-styles and accessories. In the broadest usage kanbun bijin refer to pictures ranging from gold screens painted with dancers (Kyoto City Museum) to the enigmatic image of a single courtesan pushing aside a rope curtain *noren 暖簾 in the Nawa noren byoubu 縄暖簾屏風 (Hara 原 collection, Tokyo). Most typical, however, are the hanging scrolls of a lone courtesan seen in three-quarters view. The majority of the kanbun bijin are anonymous beauties (for example, the scrolls in the Burke collection, New York, the Idemitsu 出光 Museum of Art, Tokyo, and Egawa 穎川 Museum, Hyougo), although there are paintings of specific courtesans such as the portrait of Yoshino Dayuu 吉野太夫 (Kitamura 北村 Museum, Kyoto). Similarly, most of the paintings are the products of anonymous "town painters"*machi-eshi 町絵師, although noted artists such as Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (ca.1618-94) (e.g. Mikareri bijin 見返り美人 or Beauty Looking Over Her Shoulder, Tokyo National Museum) also created works in the genre. The kanbun bijin had a great impact on the style of early ukiyo-e bijin 浮世絵美人 painting, notably the works of the *Kaigetsudouha 懐月堂派 artists.

REFERENCES:

EXTERNAL LINKS:

Mikaeri bijin 見返り美人 (Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣) / Tokyo National Museum

NOTES:

(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System.　No reproduction or republication without written permission. 掲載のテキスト・写真・イラストなど、全てのコンテンツの無断複製・転載を禁じます。