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Two pairs of beauties - one at a window, the other taking a walk

Chōkyōsai Eiri 鳥橋斎栄里

1795

paint

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanticism Ukiyo-e 18th Century

Dominant colour

Two pairs of beauties - one at a window, the other taking a walk is a 1795 paint by Chōkyōsai Eiri 鳥橋斎栄里, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Chōkyōsai Eiri 鳥橋斎栄里
When & what style?: 1795 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This drawing shows four stylish women in Edo. Two lean from a window on the right. Two walk along a river on the left. A straight line cuts the page where it was meant to split into two prints. Eiri copied this from his own sketches before carving the woodblock. The copyist’s drawing was usually tossed once the block was made. Check out the full print at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

A drawing by Chōkyōsai Eiri from 1795 depicts two pairs of Edo-period beauties, one pair cooling themselves at an open window and the other walking along a riverbank, paired with recognizable city locations. The sheet is divided by a central line, indicating its intended division into two separate prints. This preparatory drawing is a copyist’s rendering made for later reproduction, though the survival of the sheet suggests the designs were never carved into printing blocks. The work was acquired in 1910 from Mr. Hogitaro Inada and is held in a public collection.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Chōkyōsai Eiri 鳥橋斎栄里

Chōkyōsai Eiri’s color woodblock prints and paintings show stylish women in everyday scenes—like the pair at a window and the one out for a stroll in *Two pairs of beauties* (1795–96).

See the richer artist page