'Courtesan on the Shoreline'
This lovely gouache painting depicts a lone Courtesan standing at the shoreline peering out in the distance, perhaps awaiting a visitor or bidding farewell. She is beautifully dressed in regal attire, wearing a striped kimono and a gorgeous colorful obi with multicolor blossoms. Her poise and demeanor evoke serenity and calm. There are silver-gray clouds filling the expanse of sky and a mostly calm light blue sea. This gouache on heavy grade Japanese watercolor paper is expertly rendered, executed in a wonderful palette of colors. A gouache is essentially a watercolor, but the color is more opaque. It bears its artist Kanji signature, a red seal and a black cipher in the lower right corner, but we cannot read it, so it shall remain a mystery for now. This large painting's sight size is 19.5" x 9.5", and the simple black frame measures 21.25" x 11.25". It is in overall very good condition. It likely dates to c1890-1900. It is painted on heavy paper and backed with artist mat board. This painting has aged gracefully and is most befitting of Frank Lloyd Wright's old adage about Japanese prints...'it is no secret that the prints choose whom they love and there is then no salvation but surrender." P85313                $595.00