Beauty Under Blossoming Plum Branch
Sold – no longer available
This piece was a handmade one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.
You might like these pieces
Details about the sold piece
- Height 175 cm
- Width 49 cm
- Item Type Kakemono
- Jikusaki Bone
- Material Honshi Silk
- Period of Creation Meiji (1868–1912)
- Technique Hand-Painted
- Unique Work Yes
No longer available
Description
Against a golden background stands a graceful woman in elaborately layered robes, their soft folds of fabric flowing to the ground in tones of orange, blue, and cream, while behind her a delicately blossoming plum branch extends into the picture. The clothing recalls courtly attire of past eras and lends the depiction a timeless, almost legendary aura.
The woman's calm, upright posture and the reduced pictorial composition with much open gold ground draw the eye entirely to the fine lines of the robe and the delicate rendering of the face. This form of Bijin-ga, the depiction of beautiful women, is among the most popular themes of traditional Japanese painting. A small signature with a red seal can be seen in the lower part of the picture.
Painted on silk with roller ends made of bone, this work dates from the Meiji period and captivates through its elegant, almost ceremonial aura – a kakemono for lovers of classical Japanese figure painting.
