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Three Women, from the series Seven Sages for Shofudai

Three Women, from the series Seven Sages for Shofudai

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Katsushika Hokusai

In these three prints from the series Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, the ancient Chinese Daoist recluses who fled politics to find refuge in nature are transformed into genteel Japanese women standing against a bamboo grove. These types of prints would have satisfied the male desire to both gaze at a beauty and recognize a classical Chinese theme. Such ingenious juxtaposition resulted from the extremely competitive urban print market in the Edo Period (1603–1868), when printmakers were pushed to devise increasingly clever and pleasing designs often through the parody of classical themes (mitate).
Artist
Katsushika Hokusai
(Japanese, 1760 - 1849)
Title
Three Women, from the series Seven Sages for Shofudai
Date
1800-1805
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
218 x 261 mm image
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.2327a-c
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]

  • Osumi, Takeshige, ed. "Edward Burr Van Vleck Collection Ukiyo-e Masterpieces Exhibition." Tokyo: Bun You Associates, 1999.

  • Edward Burr Van Vleck Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 10/13/1999–6/30/2000

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