A hand-painted ukiyoe, colored on paper. The painting is 41.7 cm by width and 100.7 cm by height. The hanging scroll is 53 cm by width and 188 cm by height. Parts of the painter's signature have been peeled off, particularly letters following the painter's name "Baioken Eishun," but they may be "painted this."
箱書きに「梅翁美人圖」、箱に貼付された紙に「懐月堂派 梅翁軒永春筆 立美人画」と記されている。
The writing on the containing box reads "Painting by Baiō depicting a beauty" and the writing on the sheet of paper stuck on the box reads "Standing beauty painted by Baiōken Eishun, Kaigetsudo-school."
The writing on the containing box reads "Painting by Baiō depicting a beauty" and the writing on the sheet of paper stuck on the box reads "Standing beauty painted by Baiōken Eishun, Kaigetsudo-school."
上部１割５分、下部５分を除き、無地の大画面いっぱいに和服の女性を描く。縦の中心軸上に頭部と帯と足先が配置され、ほぼ直立だが、かかとが中心軸より後方にあり、かすかに前方に歩みだすような動意がある。足は真横を向いているが、上体は４５度程度正面に向いており、軽く体を捩った姿である。
A woman wearing Kimono is painted against the large plain background, fully occupying the screen only leaving top 15% and bottom 5%. Her head, obi (broad sash) and foot are located on the vertical center of the screen. She stands almost upright, but her heels are behind the vertical center, and thus a slight indication of the movement forward may be sensed. Her visible feet is directed to the left, but her bust is shown in three-quarters: she twists her body slightly.
８頭身の長身だが、細身ではない。帯の位地からすると、脚も長めで、いわば西洋風の体つきである。といって、現代日本であればありえないほどでもない。
She seems to be a tall woman, well-proportioned like a Western woman, with her height eight-times as high as her head, and with long legs as implied by the locus of her obi. This might have been somewhat unrealistic in Edo period, but if put in modern Japan her proportion may be exceptional but not unrealistic.
時期的には、１８世紀初頭の、お相撲さんのように堂々とした懐月堂安度の美人と、１８世紀中葉の、華奢で可憐な鈴木春信の美人の中間にあたる画家だが、体形的には１８世紀末の鳥居清長に近いか。
Baioken Eishun was active somewhat later than Kaigetsudo Ando (early 18th century), who depicted a beauty as magnificent as a Sumo wrestler and earlier than Suzuki Harunobu (mid 18th century), whose beauties were slender and delicate, but the proportion of his beauty rather resembles that of Torii Kiyonaga in end 18th century.
ここで、清長の美人をギリシア彫刻のヴィーナスに喩えたフェノロサの顰にならって、本作の女性をミロのヴィーナスと並ばせてみると、類似のプロポーションのように思われる。
Once Ernest Fenollosa likened Kiyonaga's beauty to Venus in Greek sculpture. Standing next to Venus of Melos, Baioken's woman indeed shows similarity in proportion.
（ヴィーナスの写真はShawn Lipowski 氏のものの部分を利用させていただきました。）
もっとも、清長の優美さに比べれば遥かに生硬であるが、そこに図案的な面白さもあるように思われる。すなわち、体の軸は直立に近いものの、きものは、左袖口で右に動き、右袖口、左袂と順に左右に大きく動き、右袂、左褄先と順にまた左右に小さく動き、裾で左に動いて終わるリズムを生んでいる。また、頭髪と帯と左褄先裏地の３か所に濃い黒が、襟や褄先に下着の濃い赤が描かれてアクセントをなしている。
True, Baioken Eishun looks stiff and crude when compared with Kiyonaga's elegance, but has his own appeal in simplified composition. Though the axis of the beauty's body is almost upright, her kimono shows waves to the right and the left, starting with small swing of her left sleeve, followed by larger swings of her right sleeve and left sleeve pocket, and smaller swings of her right sleeve pocket and the left end of her skirt, and ending with the bottom of her skirt. The pure black in her hair, obi and skirt and the dark red in her neckband and skirt accentuate the composition.
A woman wearing Kimono is painted against the large plain background, fully occupying the screen only leaving top 15% and bottom 5%. Her head, obi (broad sash) and foot are located on the vertical center of the screen. She stands almost upright, but her heels are behind the vertical center, and thus a slight indication of the movement forward may be sensed. Her visible feet is directed to the left, but her bust is shown in three-quarters: she twists her body slightly.
８頭身の長身だが、細身ではない。帯の位地からすると、脚も長めで、いわば西洋風の体つきである。といって、現代日本であればありえないほどでもない。
She seems to be a tall woman, well-proportioned like a Western woman, with her height eight-times as high as her head, and with long legs as implied by the locus of her obi. This might have been somewhat unrealistic in Edo period, but if put in modern Japan her proportion may be exceptional but not unrealistic.
時期的には、１８世紀初頭の、お相撲さんのように堂々とした懐月堂安度の美人と、１８世紀中葉の、華奢で可憐な鈴木春信の美人の中間にあたる画家だが、体形的には１８世紀末の鳥居清長に近いか。
Baioken Eishun was active somewhat later than Kaigetsudo Ando (early 18th century), who depicted a beauty as magnificent as a Sumo wrestler and earlier than Suzuki Harunobu (mid 18th century), whose beauties were slender and delicate, but the proportion of his beauty rather resembles that of Torii Kiyonaga in end 18th century.
ここで、清長の美人をギリシア彫刻のヴィーナスに喩えたフェノロサの顰にならって、本作の女性をミロのヴィーナスと並ばせてみると、類似のプロポーションのように思われる。
Once Ernest Fenollosa likened Kiyonaga's beauty to Venus in Greek sculpture. Standing next to Venus of Melos, Baioken's woman indeed shows similarity in proportion.
もっとも、清長の優美さに比べれば遥かに生硬であるが、そこに図案的な面白さもあるように思われる。すなわち、体の軸は直立に近いものの、きものは、左袖口で右に動き、右袖口、左袂と順に左右に大きく動き、右袂、左褄先と順にまた左右に小さく動き、裾で左に動いて終わるリズムを生んでいる。また、頭髪と帯と左褄先裏地の３か所に濃い黒が、襟や褄先に下着の濃い赤が描かれてアクセントをなしている。
True, Baioken Eishun looks stiff and crude when compared with Kiyonaga's elegance, but has his own appeal in simplified composition. Though the axis of the beauty's body is almost upright, her kimono shows waves to the right and the left, starting with small swing of her left sleeve, followed by larger swings of her right sleeve and left sleeve pocket, and smaller swings of her right sleeve pocket and the left end of her skirt, and ending with the bottom of her skirt. The pure black in her hair, obi and skirt and the dark red in her neckband and skirt accentuate the composition.
浮世絵の女性の多くは細面でつり目だが、この作品は丸顔で、目は水平に描かれている。目線はまっすぐ前方を向いており、体の姿勢にも顔の表情にも、浮世絵によくみられる媚びや流し目がない。
Many ukiyoe women have long faces and eyes that turns up at the corners, but this woman has a round face and eyes not turning up or down. She looks straight forward and lacks fawning or leering, which are often observed in ukiyoe, in her posture or facial expressions.
Many ukiyoe women have long faces and eyes that turns up at the corners, but this woman has a round face and eyes not turning up or down. She looks straight forward and lacks fawning or leering, which are often observed in ukiyoe, in her posture or facial expressions.
髷はちょっとボーイッシュな勝山髷である。勝山髷は、承応・明暦年間に吉原の遊女勝山が始め、元禄ごろには一般にも広く結われたという。前髪を引きつめ、鬢を出さない代わりに「つと」を思いきり出す、元禄時代に流行ったスタイルで描かれている。
She has her chignon in Katsuyama-style, a boyish chignon invented by a courtesan named Katsuyama in Jouou or Meireki period and had become popular by Genroku period. With front part of her hair tightened, no hair at the sides, and with a large tail, her chignon resembles the typical one in Genroku period.
平打簪を垂直に差しており、簪の飾りの部分に「隅切り角に大割り蔦」の紋が打ち出してある。蔦の紋は、蔦の他にまとわりつく性質から遊女に好まれたといわれるが、浮世絵の多くの女性と異なり、本作の女性にはまとわりつくような様子は感じられない。
Her ornamental hairpin is depicted with the crest of ivy, which was preferred by courtesans as ivy curl round something else. But this woman shows no intention to curl round a man, unlike many other women in ukiyoe.
櫛には黒い斑点がみられ、舶来の高価な鼈甲櫛かと想像される。
The black spots on her comb suggests it is made of imported precious tortoiseshell.
She has her chignon in Katsuyama-style, a boyish chignon invented by a courtesan named Katsuyama in Jouou or Meireki period and had become popular by Genroku period. With front part of her hair tightened, no hair at the sides, and with a large tail, her chignon resembles the typical one in Genroku period.
平打簪を垂直に差しており、簪の飾りの部分に「隅切り角に大割り蔦」の紋が打ち出してある。蔦の紋は、蔦の他にまとわりつく性質から遊女に好まれたといわれるが、浮世絵の多くの女性と異なり、本作の女性にはまとわりつくような様子は感じられない。
Her ornamental hairpin is depicted with the crest of ivy, which was preferred by courtesans as ivy curl round something else. But this woman shows no intention to curl round a man, unlike many other women in ukiyoe.
櫛には黒い斑点がみられ、舶来の高価な鼈甲櫛かと想像される。
The black spots on her comb suggests it is made of imported precious tortoiseshell.
きものはごく薄い水色の地に大ぶりの白菊と、萌葱や柿色の菊の葉を散らしている。黒、萌葱、柿色の組み合わせは歌舞伎の定式幕を思わせる。帯は黒無地の帯を前帯にして結んでいる。
Her kimono depicts, against very light blue background, large white chrysanthemum flowers and grass green and persimmon color chrysanthemum leaves. The combination of black, grass green and persimmon color reminds us of Kabuki curtain. She puts plain black obi tied on the front.
以上、本作は、浮世絵の女性像の多くに見られる、ねじれや被抑圧感、また現代のグラビア写真にもしばしば見られる媚びの表情や姿勢を欠いており、男性の視線をあまり意識しない、のびやかであっさりした、「おっとり」と「ぼんやり」の中間ぐらいの人柄を描く点が一つの特徴である。また、縦の中心軸の左右に展開するリズムや、大胆な色彩の取り合わせなど、図案的な面白さがある点ががもう一つの特徴といえよう。西洋人的な体形と相俟って、少しモダンな感じを与える。
In short, this work distinguishes itself in depicting a woman who lacks distorted or oppressed sentiments common to many ukiyoe women or seductive or voluptuous expressions and postures often seen even in today's pinup girls. She seems to be indifferent to men's eyes and to be somewhere among being calm, naive and slow. It also standouts in its somewhat modernistic composition with the rhythm of the waves swinging to the right and the left around the vertical center and with bold but controlled use of colors.
In short, this work distinguishes itself in depicting a woman who lacks distorted or oppressed sentiments common to many ukiyoe women or seductive or voluptuous expressions and postures often seen even in today's pinup girls. She seems to be indifferent to men's eyes and to be somewhere among being calm, naive and slow. It also standouts in its somewhat modernistic composition with the rhythm of the waves swinging to the right and the left around the vertical center and with bold but controlled use of colors.
梅翁軒永春は、１８世紀初頭に工房を指揮して肉筆美人画の大量生産を行った懐月堂安度の一派の周辺にあった画家と位置付けられている。
Baioken Eishun is considered to have been not part of but close to the school of Kaigetsudo Ando, who managed a studio which mass-produced hand painted ukiyoe depicting beauties in early 18th century.
永春の作品としては、小林忠「浮世絵の魅力」（１９８４年）３１頁に、本作と同じ体形、表情、装いの女性が、後ろを振り返る姿を描いた作品（下図左端）が掲載されている。恩賜京都博物館編「肉筆浮世絵聚」（１９３５年）掲載の作品（尼崎伊三郎蔵、下図右から２つ目）は、きものの柄や帯は似ているが、体形は７頭身で、髷の形が異なり、袖が短く、少し体を反らせている。東京国立博物館の列品番号A-836「立美人図」は、本作同様８頭身で、髷も良く似ているが、きものの柄が異なり、左端の作品と似た見返り姿勢をとっている。
As shown below, there are other works by Bioken Eishun with similar kimono patterns, faces, proportions, postures, or hair styles, but combined with some other differentiated elements.
永春は懐月堂派からは独立して活動していたと考えられているが、人物や衣装のパターンの組み合わせで多様な肉筆画を量産した懐月堂方式を永春も採用していたことが窺われる。
Though Eishun is considered to have been independent of Kaigetsudo-school, he seems to have adopted the school's approach to mass-produce wide variety of hand-painted ukiyoe by combining different patterns of elements.
Baioken Eishun is considered to have been not part of but close to the school of Kaigetsudo Ando, who managed a studio which mass-produced hand painted ukiyoe depicting beauties in early 18th century.
永春の作品としては、小林忠「浮世絵の魅力」（１９８４年）３１頁に、本作と同じ体形、表情、装いの女性が、後ろを振り返る姿を描いた作品（下図左端）が掲載されている。恩賜京都博物館編「肉筆浮世絵聚」（１９３５年）掲載の作品（尼崎伊三郎蔵、下図右から２つ目）は、きものの柄や帯は似ているが、体形は７頭身で、髷の形が異なり、袖が短く、少し体を反らせている。東京国立博物館の列品番号A-836「立美人図」は、本作同様８頭身で、髷も良く似ているが、きものの柄が異なり、左端の作品と似た見返り姿勢をとっている。
As shown below, there are other works by Bioken Eishun with similar kimono patterns, faces, proportions, postures, or hair styles, but combined with some other differentiated elements.
永春は懐月堂派からは独立して活動していたと考えられているが、人物や衣装のパターンの組み合わせで多様な肉筆画を量産した懐月堂方式を永春も採用していたことが窺われる。
Though Eishun is considered to have been independent of Kaigetsudo-school, he seems to have adopted the school's approach to mass-produce wide variety of hand-painted ukiyoe by combining different patterns of elements.
写真は鳥取市の六光美術の撮影。
Photograph by Rokko Art in Tottori-city.
Photograph by Rokko Art in Tottori-city.
