Japanese erotic art and the life of the courtesan

by Richard Illing

Book Overview

Japanese Erotic Art and the Life of the Courtesan (View amazon detail page) ASIN: 0831728892 This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0500530238
• ISBN13: 9780500530238
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: Thames and Hudson
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating Glimpse at Japanese History

Japanese Erotic Art and the Life of the Courtesan (41 color plates) Though graphic at times, the color plates are beautifully rendered, in classical Japanese watercolor and ink. Many of these images educate on the importance of style, class and social position. There is also subtle commentary on the female role as a courtesan, her life, and the social network about her daily existence. I highly recommend this book, as it gives the reader an interesting perspective on Japanese culture in the 17th and 18th centuries, and many of the works are by famous artists such as Utamaro.

Images from the lives of courtesan's from old Edo.

As someone who has grown up used to the rules of European art I can still remember the shock and immediate liking I felt towards Oriental art the first time I saw some,(1970's), in particular the Japanese schools. All of my Art books are from the many European Art schools that have flourised over the many centuries. With one exception, this one, the way the Japanese artist interpretated the laws of perspective was always so alien to my eyes that I became fascinated by it. Very little gets in the way of a Japanese painting and it's subject matter, and that includes the laws of perspective and vanishing points. The use of colour and bold outline was also intensely foreign and yet intensely interesting. I'm not surprised the Impressionists became infatuated with all things Japanese in the 1870's. Now to book contents. Most of the paintings were promoted for their instructional matter, and claimed artistic descent from the famous "Pillow books" handed on to the brides of noble families. Some of the paintings in these pages show the mundane daily duties of the courtesans, making themselves beautiful, making tea and of course entertaining clients. Because of the more severe censorship views of US society I'd best not show any of the more explicit paintings. ~~~~ Some of the Artists are anonymous, but a few of the named ones include:~ Utamaro (1754-1806) Harunobu (1724-1770) Shuncho (1780-1800) And my all time favourite Japanese painter of, "Great Wave of Kanagawa" fame, Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). The overall impression I get from these paintings is of a society that lived life to it's fullest. They knew how to party in old Edo! (First publised UK 1978-reprinted 1983)