two women with a black rat, Isoda Koryūsai

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Isoda Koryūsai, two women with a black rat
Isoda Koryūsai, two women with a black rat
Isoda Koryūsai
two women with a black rat
early 1770s, Edo period (1600–1868)
Isoda Koryūsai, artist
1735–1790
two women with a black rat, early 1770s, Edo period (1600–1868)
Portfolio/Series title: Fūryū Jūnishi (Elegant 12 Zodiac Animals)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 263 x 191 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 10 3/8 x 7 1/2 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 263 x 193 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 10 3/8 x 7 5/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in
Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial
Accession number: 1928.7862
Not on display
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Archive Label date unknown:
In each of these prints elegant figures appear with one of the twelve zodiac animals, which have been used by the Chinese and the Japanese to designate different years of the cyclical calendar. Koryūsai has cleverly represented the boar as a painted motif on the screen behind the two figures in the left print. In the center print, the dragon is portrayed as a spout out of which water flows, and in the right print the rat is shown as a live animal being petted by one of the women. The branch of plum blossoms seen through the window and the snow-covered bamboo leaf motifs on the kimono allude to winter and the coming of a new year.