Artist: Isoda Koryūsai
Date: 1772
Size: 110 x 38 cm
Technique: Gold
The central figure in this triptych is the ninth-century courtier Ariwara no Yukihira (818–893), who was a prominent poet in the Heian period (794–1185). Though an aristocrat of the highest standing, he was briefly exiled from the palace to the seaside village of Suma. His exile became a celebrated legend that was immortalized in the Nō drama Matsukaze. The Matsukaze story tells of the undying passion of the two sisters, Matsukaze (Wind in the Pines) and Murasame (Autumn Showers), who made their living in Suma by boiling salt from seawater. The two “Salt Maidens” became enamored of the exiled poet. When pardoned by the court, Yukihira returned to the capital, leaving his cap and gown with the maidens as mementos, along with a firm promise to send for them in the near future.In this triptych, Yukihira wears the robes of a Heian period courtier, while the maidens appear in contemporary dress with straw aprons to protect them from water splashing from the buckets of brine they transport. Koryūsai’s aesthetic decision to paint this composition as a monochromatic image with gold highlights, a technique known as benigirai (“avoiding red”), was a trend of the day in ukiyo-e painting that was later popularized in prints and paintings.
Artist |
|
|---|---|
Download |
|
Permissions |
Free for non commercial use. See below. |
 |
This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. However - you may not use this image for commercial purposes and you may not alter the image or remove the watermark. This applies to the United States, Canada, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.
|
Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may
not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the
