Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Unable to open [object Object]: HTTP 0 attempting to load TileSource: https://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/iiif/499037884/info.json
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2013.51
People
Unknown Artist
Traditionally attributed to Iwasa Matabei 岩佐又兵衛, Japanese (1578 - 1650 Edo)
Title
Standing Beauty in a Dance Pose
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting, hanging scroll
Date
mid 17th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Edo period, 1615-1868
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/199995

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
painting proper: H. 127.7 x W. 48 cm (50 1/4 x 18 7/8 in.)
mounting, including suspension cord and roller ends: H. 227 x W. 67.9 cm (89 3/8 x 26 3/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Louis V. Ledoux Collection, New York (by 1948), by descent; to his son L. Pierre Ledoux, New York (1948-2001), by inheritance; to his widow Joan F. Ledoux, New York, (2001-2013), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2013.

Footnotes:
1. Louis V. Ledoux (1880-1948)
2. L. Pierre Ledoux (1912-2001)
3. On long term loan to Harvard Art Museums from 1981 to 2013.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Louis V. Ledoux Collection; Gift of Mrs. L. Pierre Ledoux in memory of her husband
Accession Year
2013
Object Number
2013.51
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Description
This painting in vertical hanging scroll format depicts a beautiful woman wearing a black kimono embroidered with plum blossoms, maple leaves, and stylized Chinese characters, captured mid-step in a dancing position. She stands with knees bent to the viewer’s right, but with body and shoulders twisted back towards the viewers left, her head turned back behind her, her gaze focused to the left beyond the frame of the painting. Her right arm stretches outward behind her, allowing the fabric of her sleeve to fall open and reveal its designs, but her right hand remains concealed. Written in cursive script, the character for warbler (uguisu) appears among the plum blossoms on the sleeve. On the lower portion of her robe, the character for deer (shika) appears among the maple leaves. The beauty stands on a plain background, save for the fourteen character poem calligraphed at the top of the painting, and the signature and two seals near the upper left.

Publication History

  • Julia Meech, "Louis V. Ledoux: Collector of Japanese Textiles", Impressions, Japanese Art Society of America (Lexington, 2022), No. 43: part one of double issue, pp. 99-128, pp. 107-108. fig. 7

Exhibition History

  • Later Chinese and Japanese Figure Painting in Decorative Arts, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 02/22/1992 - 06/07/1992
  • Women and the Arts of Asia, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 09/10/1994 - 03/05/1995
  • Masterworks of Ukiyo-e, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 07/20/1996 - 01/12/1997
  • Paragons of Wisdom and Virtue: East Asian Figure Painting, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 02/15/1997 - 09/21/1997

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu