Hell Courtesan
1871–89
Kawanabe Kyōsai
Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831–1889)
Japanese Art
Hell Courtesan, 1871–89. Kawanabe Kyōsai (Japanese, 1831–1889). Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and silver on silk; image: 144.2 x 67.6 cm (56 3/4 x 26 5/8 in.); overall: 233.7 x 92.1 cm (92 x 36 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.268 Kawanabe Kyōsai repeated this large-scale composition with variations a number of times. In this version, a famous 15th-century courtesan known for wearing a robe with images of the Buddhist hells stands before a folding screen. Legend has it that she was abducted by bandits, and wore the garment to symbolize her belief that her suffering in her current life was punishment for sins committed in a former life. Here, in a parody depiction of the garment, the courtesan stands in for Benzaiten, the goddess of everything that flows, while the remaining members of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune appear on her outer robe. One of them reports sins to Enma, the King of Hell, who is writing out his judgments on the recently deceased. The word for longevity appears multiple times in gold and silver on her outer robe.
- Maker/Artist
- Kawanabe Kyōsai
- Classification
- Painting
- Formatted Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold, and silver on silk
- Dimensions
- Image: 144.2 x 67.6 cm (56 3/4 x 26 5/8 in.); Overall: 233.7 x 92.1 cm (92 x 36 1/4 in.)
- Inscribed
- Inscription: artist's signature and two seals, lower right.
- Departments
- Japanese Art
- Accession Number
- 1985.268
- Credit Line
- The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
- Exhibitions
- The Year in Review for 1985, A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection, Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art, Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art, Japan's Floating World (Japanese art rotation) 235, <em>Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (December 12, 2004-April 10, 2005)., <em>Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (June 3, 2016–January 10, 2017).
- Rights Statement
- CC0
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