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Hell Courtesan

An Artisan’s Shop, from the album The Mist of Sandara (Sandara kasumi)

Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry (Uso, shidarezakura), from an untitled series of flowers and birds

Sazai Hall at the Temple of the Five Hundred Arhats (Gohyakurakanji Sazaido), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

This print illustrates the legend of a woman murdered by her husband because she accidentally broke plates. Her corpse and the pieces of the dishes were thrown into a well, but her ghost returned every night to haunt him in the eerie form seen here. This small-format work features a bright blue color that may seem cheery to us, but Hokusai’s original audience would have associated it with death and the occult.

Iris and Grasshopper, from an untitled series of large flowers

Ejiri in Suruga Province (Sunshu Ejiri), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

A Philosopher Watching a Pair of Butterflies, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei)

Cotton Roses and Sparrow, from an untitled series of Large Flowers

Hydrangea and Swallow, from an untitled series of large flowers

This frightening print illustrates the story of Kohada Koheiji, a Kabuki actor who was drowned by his wife’s lover but later came back to haunt the couple. The tale was popular in the 18th century, eventually inspiring a novel and several Kabuki plays. Here, the skeletal ghost of Kohada Koheiji pulls down the mosquito net and eerily peers at the sleeping couple in their bed.

Blooming Plum Tree, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

Poppies, from an untitled series of flowers

Cranes on snow-covered pine

Japan; Illustrated book; Illustrated Books

Hawk, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

Fishing Boats at Choshi in Shimosa (Soshu Choshi) from the series "One Thousand Pictures of the Ocean (Chie no umi)"

Lilies, from an untitled series of Large Flowers

Iris, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

Fragment textiel

Bell-Flower and Dragonfly, from an untitled series of large flowers

Morning Glories and Tree-frog, from an untitled series of Large Flowers

Acteurs tijdens een kabuki-voorstelling in Kabukiza, Tokyo

Acteurs tijdens een kabuki-voorstelling in Kabukiza, Tokyo

Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaido (Kisoji no oku Amidagataki), from the series "A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri)"

Togetsu Bridge at Arashiyama in Yamashiro Province (Yamashiro Arashiyama no Togetsukyo), from the series "Unusual Views of Famous Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyo kiran)"

Woman Reading a Letter

Mount Fuji with Cherry Trees in Bloom

Fox, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

Fragment textiel

Umezawa Marsh in Sagami Province (Soshu Umezawa hidari), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Goten Hill at Shinagawa on the Tokaido (Tokaido Shinagawa Gotenyama), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Armor (Gusoku)

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)"

Hotei Smoking his Pipe, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

The Merry Family

Goddess Riding a Dragon, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

Fragment van een muurschildering

Chrysanthemum and Horsefly, from an untitled series of Large Flowers

Tama River in Musashi Province (Bushu Tamagawa), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Yoro Waterfall in Mino Province (Mino no kuni Yoro no taki), from the series Tour of the Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku Takimeguri)

Shower Below the Summit (Sanka hakuu), from the series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Memorial Anniversary (Shunen), from the series "One Hundred Ghost Tales (Hyaku monogatari)"

Japan; Illustrated book; Illustrated Books

The Milkmaid

Mishima Pass in Kai Province (Koshu Mishimagoe), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), also known as The Great Wave, from the series "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Japan; Illustrated book; Illustrated Books

A winged angel with arms crossed kneels across from a young woman sitting and holding a book, both under an archway in a paneled room in this vertical painting. They both have pale, yellow-toned skin, blond hair, and flat, gold halos. They also have golden brown eyes, long, straight noses, smooth cheeks, and their pale, pink lips are closed. To our right, the woman sits in a throne-like chair with her body facing our left. Her head tilts down, and she looks toward the angel under lowered lids. Her hair is pulled back under the neck of the lapis-blue cloak she wears over a crimson-red dress. The dress and cloak are trimmed with gold, and a there is a gold starburst on the cloak over her left shoulder, closer to us. She holds her other hand up near that shoulder with her fingertips brushing her chest. With her other hand, she holds open the pages of a small book in her lap, so her fingers overlap some of the words. The entire Latin inscription would read, “virgo concipiet et pariet filium et vocabitur nomen eius emmanuel butirum et mel come dit ut fiat reprobare.” A slender, bone-white column separates her from the angel across from her, along the left edge of the painting. The angel has curly, shoulder-length hair and wears a robe with a gold, floral pattern against a burgundy-red background. Long, golden wings emerge from the shoulder blades and extend off the side of the composition. An open archway just beyond the angel is filled with streaks of flax yellow and burnt orange, possibly representing flames. Some of the walls in the room around the pair are pale olive green and other areas are darker spruce green. There are bands of coral-pink molding and inset panels of patterned mosaics. The flat ceiling of the space immediately over the pair is decorated with checkerboard panels in navy blue, hunter green, brown, and brick red. Gold lines create a ray coming from the ceiling toward the woman. At the back of the space, beyond the column separating the woman and angel, the room extends into an alcove with an arched hallway painted with gold stars against a midnight-blue background. Double doors open at the back of the alcove onto a room with a pale-yellow curtain with a mesh-like trim. We see the pair as if through a stone archway that lines the top and sides of the composition. The upper corners are filled with leafy decorations, as if carved into the stone.

The great Jewish bride

Tagonoura Bay near Ejiri on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Ejiri Tagonoura ryakuzu), from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

Fan painting with river landscape

Tatekawa River Lumberyard at Honjo (Honjo Tatekawa), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Ingelijste muurschildering voorstellende Xiwangmu en dienaressen

Grapevine and Squirrels

Palampore

Ovoid covered jar with a woman reading a letter and finial in the shape of a shishi

Ono Falls on the Kisokaidō Road (Kisokaidō Ono no bakufu), from the series Tour of the Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri)

Beneath Mannen Bridge in Fukagawa (Fukagawa Mannenbashi shita) from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Whaling off the Coast of the Goto Islands (Goto kujira tsuki), from the series "One Thousand Pictures of the Ocean (Chie no umi)"

Twee fragmenten textiel

Kajikazawa in Kai Province (Koshu Kajikazawa), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

A Mild Breeze on a Fine Day (Gaifu kaisei), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Viewing Sunset over the Ryogoku Bridge from the Onmaya Embankment (Onmayagashi yori Ryogokubashi sekiyo o miru), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Courting flute (siyotanka)

Two Rabbits, from The Picture Book of Realistic Paintings of Hokusai (Hokusai shashin gafu)

Oribe-Type Ewer

Rustam's seventh course: He kills the White Div, folio 124 from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)

"Dancing Dervishes", Folio from a Divan of Hafiz

Honderd gezichten op de berg Fuji - deel drie

Tánggǔ (堂鼓)

Shown from the waist up, a woman with pale skin and brown hair, wearing a dark corset and white fabric over her shoulders, looks down at needlework in her hands in this vertical painting. Her cheeks are rosy and her dark hair is pulled back, though it seems looser down the sides of her face. A small, coral-red, crescent shape at the back of her head could be covering her hair or holding it in place. White, nearly translucent fabric lies loosely across her shoulders over a dark, moss-brown, long-sleeved dress. Her breasts swell over the squared, lace-trimmed neckline. She holds white fabric and perhaps a needle in her hands, which rest on a tan cushion on her lap. The scene is loosely painted throughout so some of the details are difficult to make out. A darker spot along her right index finger could be a thimble. The background is the same olive-tan of the cushion.

"The Concourse of the Birds", Folio 11r from a Mantiq al-Tayr (Language of the Birds)

Beroemde blikken op de Oostelijke hoofdstad

Unidentified Woman

In the Omnibus

Margaret Fuller

A woman and winged angel, both with pale, peach skin, are situated in a church interior in this tall, narrow painting. To our left, the angel has long, blond, curly hair, smooth skin, and is smiling. The wings are outlined in royal blue, and they blend from blue to green to yellow to crimson. The angel holds one hand, closer to us, up at chest height with the index finger subtly pointing upward. Holding a long scepter in the other hand, the angel angles their body toward the woman to our right. The angel wears a gold jewel and pearl-encrusted crown and a jeweled long, voluminous robe in scarlet-red and shimmering gold brocade. The neck and along the opening down the front are lined with pearls and jewels. The angel looks toward the woman, who wears a royal-blue dress tied with a red belt at the high waist. Her long brown hair is tied back but one tendril falls over her left shoulder, to our right. She kneels facing us with her raised hands facing outward. Her head is tipped a bit to our left, and she looks up and into the distance to our right with lips slightly parted. She kneels behind a book lying open on a low table. A vase of white lilies and a red cushion lies on the floor in front of the table, close to us. The floor is decorated with people and scenes outlined in black and set into square panels, as if inlaid with wood. The church behind and above the people has a row of tall, narrow arches with bull’s-eye glass windows. A walkway lined with columns runs above the arches, and sunlight comes in through arched windows under the flat wood ceiling. A white dove flies toward the woman on gold lines from a window at the upper left of the painting. Latin words painted in gold capital letters are exchanged between the people. The angel says, “AVE GRA PLENA.” The letters of the woman’s response are painted upside down and backward: “ECCE ANCILLA DNI.”

Man met peuter op de rug, Osaka

Round gown

Accordion

Fishing by Torch in Kai Province (Koshu hiburi) from the series "One Thousand Pictures of the Ocean (Chie no umi)"

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with Phoenix in Paulownia

A young, pale-skinned woman with long, blond hair and wearing a coral-red gown stands on a pedestal before a landscape filled with people in this vertical painting. The painting has an arched top, and the woman who fills most of the view is Claudia Quinta. Her hair is adorned with strands of pearls, and a larger pearl hangs from a piece of jewelry like a brooch at the top center over her forehead. A sheer veil covers the back of her head. Her body faces us but she turns her head slightly to our right, so she gazes at us from the corners of her light hazel eyes. A pearl necklace with a square gold, sapphire-blue jewel and pearl pendant encircles her neck. The brown sleeves of her dress are flecked densely with short gold lines, and white fabric shows at gaps over the elbows. The red bodice has a high waist tied with a brown belt, which also holds sheer fabric in place so it falls to her knees over the long red skirt. The skirt is bordered with a gold geometric design along the bottom hem, which stops just short of her sandaled feet. In her right hand, on our left, she holds a small, navy-blue boat with a gold figure standing in it. Her other hand rests by her left thigh, to our right. She balances near the front edge of the rectangular pedestal, which is pale violet purple. On the front face, two winged, chubby children are painted white to resemble stone carvings. They brace a panel bordered in gold. The plaque has a teal-blue background, and gold letters read, “CLAVDIA CASTA FVI NEC VVLGVS CREDIDIT AMEN ET TAMEN ID QVOD ERAM TESTIS MIHI PRORA PROBAVIT CONSILIVM ET VIRTVS SVPERANT MATERQVE DEORVM ALMA PLACET POPVLO ET PER ME HVNC ORATA TVETVR.” Beyond Claudia Quinta a river winds in a tight S-curve through dark green hills. Farther back, to our left, a group of people with thin, elongated bodies dressed in blue, light brown, and orange walk in front of a tall dark blue building as they head toward a river on the right side. The building has an arched opening and a tower topped with a taupe-brown spire. To our right of Claudia Quinta, a woman wearing a rose-pink dress holds a rope around the prow of a boat at the edge of the river. Like the boat held by Claudia Quinta, it is navy blue and has the same shape. The pale lavender-purple river continues into the distance, where it meets rocky outcroppings along the horizon, which comes about halfway up the composition. A pale blue sky above is filled with wispy bands of clouds.

Acteur in een Noh-theaterstuk, Tokyo

Bowl with Inscription, "Sovereignty is God's"

Pichhwai for the Festival of Cows

This vertical portrait painting shows the head, shoulders, and chest of a pale-skinned young man in front a cream-white, stone window that opens onto blue sky. The man’s body is angled slightly to our left and he looks directly at us with wide-set, pale blue eyes. He has smooth skin, a rounded nose, a wide jawline, and full, light pink lips. He wears a brimless crimson-red cap over brown hair that curls over his ears and down to the nape of his neck. His slate-blue jacket is lined with brown, perhaps fur, around the high neck and down the front. The jacket has puffy sleeves and vertical pleats over the chest. He is positioned in front of the stone opening, the edges of which run parallel to top and sides of the composition. Vivid blue sky fills the opening behind the young man.

The Tea Plantation of Katakura in Suruga Province (Sunshu Katakura chaen no Fuji), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)"

Twee vrouwen tussen publiek tijdens paardenraces, Hippodrome de Longchamp in het Bois de Boulogne

Mandala of the Three Shrines at Kumano

Ovoid jar with women with a yoke in scalloped panels

Evening, Melancholy I

Dinner dress

Grapevine

Unidentified Woman

Clara Louise Kellogg

Close to us, a bearded, balding man leads a donkey carrying a woman and child to our right against a hilly landscape in this horizontal painting. All three people have pale, peachy skin and halos. The man has a gray beard and hair, and wears a royal-blue tunic under a ruby-red robe. He leans on a walking stick and looks back at the donkey. The woman riding the donkey wears a blue and gold brocade-like cloak covering her head and body. She has a straight nose, small pink lips, and she looks toward the infant she holds close to her body. The baby wears a white garment and reaches for the woman’s face with one hand as he turns to look over his shoulder toward us. The path they walk on is lined with grass and detailed plants. A river runs parallel to the path a short distance away. The horizon line comes about two-thirds of the way up the painting is lined with green trees, blue mountains, and a few buildings to our left. Wispy white clouds sweep across an azure-blue sky streaked with peach near the horizon.