"Beautiful women" visit Zurich
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Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825): Flowers in the wind Museum Rietberg -
Left: Eishōsai Chōki (active ca. 1780–1809): Tsukasa Dayū from the Higashi Ōgiya whorehouse in Osaka's Shinmachi quarter. Right: Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1865): Preparing to go out swissinfo.ch -
Kaigetsudō Dohan (active 1710–1736): Courtesan Museum Rietberg -
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806): A morning scene in a riverside whorehouse Museum Rietberg -
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806): Hanaōgi from the Ōgiya whorehouse in Edochō Itchōme Museum Rietberg -
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806): tea girl under a wisteria trellis Museum Rietberg -
Left: Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806): Normally described as an easy girl. Right: Suzuki Harunobu (1725?–1770): Princess Sannomiya, the third princess from the "Story of Prince Genji" Museum Rietberg -
Torii Kiyonaga (1752–1815): Seventh month, evening goodbyes Museum Rietberg
The focus of the exhibition in Zurich’s Rietburg Museum are so-called bijinga, “beautiful women”, portrayed in traditional wood engravings from the 18th and 19th centuries.
This content was published on October 23, 2012 - 11:00
The 100 wood engravings chosen come from the Honolulu Museum of Art, whose collection comprises some 10,000 individual sheets. The American writer and collector James A. Michener (1907-1997) was particularly fascinated by the “beautiful women” and bequeathed his collection to the museum. (Images: © Honolulu Museum of Art)
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