Courtesans of Kiriya, from the book "Mirror of Beautiful Women of the Pleasure Quarters (Seiro bijin awase sugata kagami)," vol. 2 1776

Curator: Isn't this a tranquil scene? The woodblock print, dating back to 1776, presents a domestic scene with a serene energy. This is “Courtesans of Kiriya” by Kitao Shigemasa, volume 2 from his book "Mirror of Beautiful Women of the Pleasure Quarters," found right here in the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: Indeed, there’s an undeniably languid quality. The women are beautiful but don't appear particularly jolly. The subdued palette really amplifies that, almost like faded memories. Curator: Yes, there's a stillness here, a feeling of captured time. Notice how their robes, with subtle asymmetries, mirror the slight variations in their poses? What symbolism can we find in the objects scattered around them? Hairpins, combs. Are we looking at elements of self-fashioning here? Editor: Precisely! The mirror motif from the book’s title could be explored on many symbolic levels here, no? The hairpins and scattered beauty items reflect a self-consciousness and performance aspect. They hint at how their identity is partly a constructed image, not just pure essence. Curator: Right, there’s this deliberate arrangement, like setting a stage. The scene whispers stories of artistry, social expectations and cultural performance. These are pleasure quarters, but one sees hints of complex individual experiences, which feel so palpable still across time. Editor: Agreed. Their faces too are masterfully ambiguous. They project beauty, but their eyes hold a deeper kind of wisdom, perhaps? Or at least an acknowledgment of their circumstances, their societal role… They look directly to their future while performing traditions from the past. Curator: Maybe that complexity makes it endlessly fascinating. Their existence, mediated through image after image through history! There's so much beauty, tradition, and humanity captured in the muted colors and soft textures of Shigemasa’s print. It serves as a kind of record of the fleeting moment of beauty. Editor: And more than a mere record. Shigemasa lets us contemplate layers beneath that beauty. That’s what elevates it. Thank you for the reflection.