BEAUTY AFTER BATH (Chokosai Eisho)

N.1 fukkoku woodblock print
Period: second half of the 20th century
Condition: very good
Size: 26,5 x 39 cm

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Description

This print of a beauty after bath is one of the most charming full-lenght figures by Chokosai Eisho (鳥高斎栄昌), the refined ukiyo-e (浮世絵) artist active in the last decade of the 18th century who was a disciple of the famous Chobunsai Eishi (鳥文斎栄之), from which he inherited all the grace of the style. The woodblock print shows a young woman just after she has finished her bath, clad in a loose yukata (浴衣), decorated with a tie-dyed shell pattern. She is crouched down next to an andon (行灯) lamp and is cutting her nails.

The drawing of the figure is superbly done, and the emotional impact of the composition is heightened by the strong touches of contrast of the girl’s face and arms and the lamp against the yellow background. In the scene there is a peculiar flavor of voluptuousness wich Eisho conveys very skillfully.

The work, originally printed by the publisher Iseya Magobei (伊勢屋孫兵衛), is presented here in a fine edition of the second half of the 20th century made, as we read in the seal on the back, by the prestigious Adachi Hanga (アダチ版画) in Tokyo and is in very good condition.