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Evening View of the New Yoshiwara, from the series Perspective Pictures

Evening View of the New Yoshiwara, from the series Perspective Pictures

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Utagawa Toyoharu

Geographically isolated from the city, the New Yoshiwara pleasure district included several hundred brothels and teahouses that catered to the city’s wealthy inhabitants. Official access was granted through the Great Gate, which not only monitored the visitors but also prevented indentured courtesans and servants from escaping. Housing several thousand courtesans and their support staffs, including brothel owners, cooks, musicians, and servants, the New Yoshiwara functioned as an independent city with its own highly specialized customs, language, and codes of behavior. Toyoharu’s design of the Great Gate captures the festive mood as wealthy clients arrive for the evening’s entertainments.
Artist
Utagawa Toyoharu
(Japanese, 1735 - 1814)
Title
Evening View of the New Yoshiwara, from the series Perspective Pictures
Date
1770-1780
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
392 x 263 mm Overall
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.3087
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

By 1925, purchased in Japan by Frank Lloyd Wright; ca. 1926, acquired by The Bank of Wisconsin; 1928, sold to Edward Burr Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 1943, passed through inheritance to Edward’s son, John H. Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 9 January 1980, bequeathed by John H. Van Vleck to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 60, no. 5

  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900 : Chazen Museum of Art, 3/21/2008–6/15/2008
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008

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