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Standing Beauty in Blue Kimono

Kaigetsudo Doshu (Japanese, active c. 1711-16)

c. 1711–16

Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: 95.3 × 43.8 cm (37 1/2 × 17 1/4 in.); Overall with mount and knobs: 181 × 63.5 cm (71 1/4 × 25 in.)
Culture: Japan
Museum: Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Asia
Credit line: Gift of Roger L. Weston
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

About this work

Wearing an aloof—almost haughty—expression, the courtesan in this painting holds up her robes as she walks to meet a client. Kaigetsudō Doshu was a member of the Kaigetsudō (Yearning for the Moon Studio) school, which specialized in artful portraits of women that featured bold kimono designs with thick calligraphic outlines. The exaggerated patterns on the robes and their pronounced curves make the figures appear as monumental icons of beauty. Paintings and prints of the reigning courtesans of the day were sold in the studio’s shop, which was located by the entrance to the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter in Edo (now Tokyo).