Katsukawa SHUNSEN (Shunko II).1762-ca.1830Kakemono-e. Bijinga.1810-1820Colour woodblock diptych. Overall size of the two jointed prints, 740x241 mm, trimmed within margin. Signature at the middle “Shunsen ga” (春扇 画). Below, the red artist’s seal. No censor seal. Good condition.

Very rare vertical diptych, depicting a courtesan (oiran) parading, clad an ornate kimono with a tiger pattern, holding rolled sheet of paper in her right hand. Katsukawa Shunsen (勝川 春扇), who is also known as Shunkō II, was a designer of books and ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints. He was born in 1762 and designed prints from about 1805 to about 1821. He initially studied with the Rimpa school artist Tsutsumi Tōrin III. In 1806 or 1807, Shunsen became a student of Katsukawa Shun'ei, and changed his name from “Kojimachi Shunsen” to “Katsukawa Shunsen”. In 1820 he succeeded Katsukawa Shunkō I, becoming Katsukawa Shunkō II. In the late 1820s, he ceased producing woodblock prints and devoted himself to painting ceramics. He died about 1830. Shunsen is best known for his genre scenes, landscapes, and prints of beautiful women. A similar diptych at the British Museum, Registration number1906, 1220, 0.196.