1963 After Harunobu "Two Women Standing in the Drawing Room", Full-Color Print From Japan

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A stunning large full-color Ukiyo-E Hanga print after original woodblock print "Two Women Standing in the Drawing Room" by Harunobu … Read more A stunning large full-color Ukiyo-E Hanga print after original woodblock print "Two Women Standing in the Drawing Room" by Harunobu (died on the 15th of June in 1770 in downtown Edo, former name of Tokyo). Comes from a rare Collection of 24 Masterpieces by Harunobu. Produced & published by Shuei-Sha, Tokyo, in December 1963. Printers: Toppan Printing Co., LTD. Printed on one side. Attached at the top to a board of heavy textured paper, covered with lighter sheet of paper for protection, numbered 21 on the label on the front of the cover. Excellent condition - minor edge wear on the board and cover, never framed, ready to be framed. Copy of commentaries (below) in Japanese and English is included.

Overall (folded) 12.55"W x 18.20"H
Overall (unfolded) 25"W x 18.20"H
Image 8.40"W x 11.25"H

Commentaries on the piece by Ukiyo-e Art consultants & editors Dr. Kiyoshi Shibui and Mr. Sadao Kikuchi:

Harunobu: Signed
Printer: Unsigned
In the possession of Mr. Takaharu Mitsui

This picture reveals the interior of the Yoshiwara house. In the room adjacent to the one the women are standing in, one sees bedding being kept in a big lacquered box. The corridor is screened off by a heavy Noren with the courtesan's crest printed on it.

One of the women wears a sash tied at the front and heavy Uchikake silk coat, the standard interior outfit for a courtesan, and the other, the recipient of the letter, is in white silk Kimono with a boudoir sash. Harunobu employs a special technique here to create the effect of bas-relief, the type of picture later to be adapted for the battledores, the gay fashion of which was a popular feature in Edo in the later days. See less