The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 1, 2023

Hanaōgi of Ōgiya from the series Picture Puzzles

c. 1797

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)

Japan, Edo period

(1615-1868)

Color woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Sheet: 37.6 x 25.4 cm (14 13/16 x 10 in.)

The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.359

Location

not on view

Description

In this tricky print, one must decode the small pictures in the rectangle at the upper left corner to learn the identity of the subject of the print: a woman whose name means "Flower Fan," her place of work called the "House of Fans," and what she is doing—emerging from a mosquito net.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signature: Utamaro hitsu. Publisher: Matsumuraya Yahei (emblem).

Inscription

Collector's Seal: Vever

Provenance
?-1942
Henri Vever [1854–1942], France
March 26, 1974
(Sotheby & Co., London, UK, March 26, 1974, part I, lot 201)
1974-?
(R. E. Lewis, Inc., California, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith)
?-1985
The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899-1998] given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1985-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Sotheby's London. Highly Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Drawings, from the Henri Vever Collection: Part I. March 26, 1974. Reproduced: p. 172, lot no. 201
Sotheby's London. Highly Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Drawings, from the Henri Vever Collection: Part I. March 26, 1974. Reproduced: p. 172, lot no. 201
Exhibition history

Japanese Woodblock Prints: Themes and Techniques. The Cleveland Museum of Art Education Department, Cleveland, OH, 1980

A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14-November 13, 1988).

Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 7, 1993-January 2, 1994).

Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - September 2016-January 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (September 19, 2016-January 8, 2017).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.359