Courtesans of the Three Capitals: Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo

A hanging scroll painting in ink and color on silk shows three elegantly dressed women in an interior, one kneeling at left and reading a sheet of paper, the others leaning in beside her. Vertical calligraphy and red seals fill the upper left, and the patterned robes in green, black and pale tones give the composition a decorative elegance.

Artist

Tsukioka Settei 月岡雪鼎 (1710-1786)

Date

1777

Medium

Ink and color on silk

Source

Smithsonian (National Museum of Asian Art)

Size

793 × 1780 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art