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Art of Asia
Course: Art of Asia > Unit 4
Lesson 11: Edo period (1615–1868)- Edo period, an introduction
- Tea bowl with dragon roundels
- Scenes from The Tale of Genji
- Genji Ukifune
- Dog chasing
- A portrait of St. Francis Xavier and Christianity in Japan
- Ogata Kōrin, Red and White Plum Blossoms
- Hon’ami Kōetsu, Folding Screen mounted with poems
- Archery practice
- The evolution of ukiyo-e and woodblock prints
- Utagawa Kunisada I, Visiting Komachi, from the series Modern Beauties as the Seven Komachi
- Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)
- Beyond the Great Wave — Hokusai at 90
- Hokusai’s printed illustrated books
- Hokusai, Five Beautiful Women
- The Floating World of Edo Japan
- Hunting for fireflies
- Street scene in the pleasure quarter of Edo Japan
- Courtesan playing with a cat
- Courtesans of the South Station
- An introduction to Kabuki theater
- The actor Ichikawa Danzo IV in a Shibaraku role
- Fire procession costume
- Arrival of a Portuguese ship
- Matchlock gun and pistol
- Military camp jacket
- Military leader's fan
- An American ship
- The steamship Powhatan
- Conserving the Gan Ku Tiger scroll painting at the British Museum
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Hokusai, Five Beautiful Women
“Five Beautiful Women,” by Katsushika Hokusai, on display at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, depicts five women of different social backgrounds in an intriguing hierarchy. Painted on silk around the year 1810, the work prompts the viewer to consider clothing and its relationship to our identity. Discover more about Hokusai and this ukiyo-e masterpiece from Amada Cruz, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO of the Seattle Art Museum. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.
Video transcript
(Jazz music playing) Hello, I am Amada Cruz, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Director and CEO of
the Seattle Art Museum. Welcome to Bank of America's
Masterpiece Moment. Today, I would like to talk about one of my favorite
works from our collection, "Five Beautiful Women" by Katsushika Hokusai, and tell you why I think
it is truly a masterpiece. Before we begin our discussion, I would like to tell
you a little more about our newly
renovated and expanded Seattle Asian Art Museum, one of the few museums
in North America exclusively dedicated
to Asian art. This beautiful 1933
Art Deco building was SAM's original home, and in 1994, after a new museum building
opened in downtown Seattle, this facility reopened
as the museum's center for Asian art and
cultural activities. In 2020, we reopened this
gem after a major renovation, and now each gallery
presents artworks from ancient to contemporary, and from across Asia, including Japan, China, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Himalaya and the Middle East. The museum's Asian art holdings are among the finest
in the United States, and its Japanese collection is one of the top ten
outside of Japan. As part of our collection, we are honored to have one of Katsushika
Hokusai's masterpieces, "Five Beautiful Women". It's painted on fine silk
with vibrant colors, and it's about 18 inches
wide and 71 inches tall. Hokusai is a household
name in Japan and also widely known worldwide. For many of us, the name
Hokusai brings to mind the iconic prints of
the "Great Wave" or "Red Fuji," of which SAM fortunately
has fine impressions in its collection thanks
to Seattle collectors Mary and Allan Kollar. This painting was
acquired in 1956 from the highly regarded
Japanese dealer Mayuyama, who supplied top-notch
Japanese art to museums such as The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum
of Art and, of course, the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Born in 1760, Hokusai entered the art world
at the age of 19 and enjoyed a prolific
career that spanned 70 years. He produced an estimated tens
of thousands of woodblock prints and was no doubt a master of the
Pop art of his time,"ukiyo-e," or pictures of
the floating world. Soon after his death in 1849, many of the prints
found their way to Europe, where Impressionists
such as Claude Monet were fascinated by his work. Hokusai's creative
energy and genius can also be found
in his paintings. Unlike prints, his paintings
were not produced in multiples and thus in a less
greater number, but they are marvelous,
such as the one we have here. Hokusai painted "Five
Beautiful Women" around 1810, about two decades
before he created the famed "Great Wave." Here, he ingeniously
composed five women of different social backgrounds in an intriguing hierarchy, differentiated
by their clothing. At the top is a woman from
a high-ranking warrior family. She wears a kimono
decorated with an iris design and a lavish "obi" sash and is poised with a writing
brush and paper in hand. The next is a young woman
from a wealthy merchant family in a "shibori" tie-dyed kimono, engaged in flower arrangement. The third woman in a black
kimono with floral designs and a butterfly-shaped hat
is a lady-in-waiting in the residence of
a "shogun" or "daimyo," a Japanese feudal lord. Beneath her reclines
a high-class courtesan, identified by
her front-tied "obi" that bears a peacock
feather pattern. At the bottom is
a middle-aged woman in a simple, brown kimono with a checkered "obi" sash. She is reclining on
the floor, reading a book. Her somber-colored
robes and plucked eyebrows lead some scholars to
suggest she is a widow. All the remarkable detailing of
the garment patterns we see here is a trademark of
deluxe "ukiyo-e" painting. Painted on silk with
expensive pigments, this painting is among
the finest works that Hokusai made for
his wealthiest clients. It is a pivotal work of the
popular genre, beautiful women. In fact, the gallery
we are in right now is titled "Are We What We Wear?" The array of garments
and accessories here prompts us to think
about clothing and the relationships
to our identity. Hokusai's painting does this
so eloquently and beautifully. Along with seven other paintings by masters such
as Raphael and Goya, "Five Beautiful Women"
appeared on the 1974 "famous works of art"
commemorative stamps illustrating the theme
of "Letters mingle souls" to mark the centennial of
the Universal Postal Union. I want to thank you for
taking the time to watch today and to learn more about Hokusai's
"Five Beautiful Women." I encourage you
to join the conversation and discuss the piece
with family and friends. And please visit the Bank of America
Masterpiece Moment website to sign up for alerts and ensure that you never miss a moment. To sign up to
receive notifications about new Bank of America
Masterpiece Moment videos, please visit: www.bankofamerica.com/
masterpiecemoment.