Two Courtesans on a Balcony (From the series Five Colors of Ink)
1814
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1814
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Two Courtesans on a Balcony (From the series Five Colors of Ink) is a 1814 by Kikukawa Eizan, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
Two women in colorful kimonos sit on a wooden balcony. One holds a fan, the other leans forward with a hand on her chin. Their robes are bright—one in green and blue, the other in orange and black—with bold patterns. Behind them, a fence separates the scene from a simple garden with a few plants. Notice the fan one woman holds: it’s not just decoration. Fans like this were used to write secret messages or signal discreetly. Look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more works like this.
