Japanese Venuses: Ten Types of Female Nude by Ishikawa Toraji

Tinkle of the bell (1934)

These sumptuous nudes were the work of Ishikawa Toraji (1975-1964).  They are from a set of ten nude prints called Ten types of female nude published in 1934, when he was nearly sixty.  They combine the aesthetics and woodblock printing technique of the classical period with a more European approach to anatomy.  Here, a ripe young woman teases her dog with a bell.

Dance (1934)

Nine out of ten of the pictures feature women in domestic environments but this one is rather different as it features a dancer or, actually, a stripper.  It is clear from the way the figure is lit that she is on stage.

Blue parrot (1934)

In this one there is a mixture of a traditional screen with nineteen thirties furniture and the exotica of a tiger skin.

At the bath (1934)

The prints, although far from explicit, were sensuous enough that the series was banned by the Japanese authorities.  Here a young lady dries herself in a traditional bath, probably in a hot spring resort (onsen)

Morning (1934)

In complete contrast here we have a woman in a very modern bathroom.  These bathroom pictures are reminiscent of those done by French nineteenth century artists who were, in turn, very influenced by Japanese prints.

Reading (1934)

Several of the women in this series have European, short, hair styles and these girls were known as moga (modern girl) in Japan at the time.  Toraji visited both the US and Europe (he studied in France) from 1902 until 1903 so would have been exposed to a lot of western art, which had only started to be seen in Japan in the eighteen eighties.

Bored (1934)

Another reading girl and another animal, in this case a cat, in this one.  The naturalistic physical shape of the women in this set of prints is obviously influenced by contemporary European representations of the nude and is far from the Japanese idealised form of earlier years.

Black cat (1934)

Another cat here, in this tactile-looking print.  Toraji became very involved in the development of art education in Japan.  In 1943 he became head of the Pacific Art School

Relaxing (1934)

A pair of very modern black stockings and more contemporary furniture feature in this print.  She is reminiscent of one of Toulouse Lautrec's prostitutes. These pictures emerged during the shin hanga (new prints) period of Japanese art from about 1915 until 1940.  It was driven, to a large extent, by foreign interest in Japanese prints and there were big exhibitions of shin hanga prints in Toledo in 1930 and 1936.  After this, deteriorating relationships with the western powers saw this external market die away.

Springtime of life (1934)

Finally, we have a young lady admiring herself in the mirror.  So, a splendid set of prints melding traditional Japanese woodcut technique with a European infused aesthetic.

You have read this article Asian venuses / Japanese venuses / twentieth century venuses / Venus in black stockings / Venus with a dog with the title Venus with a dog. You can bookmark this page URL https://amandanamoradinha.blogspot.com/2013/12/japanese-venuses-ten-types-of-female.html. Thanks!

Venus with a dog 2: Cocking her leg

Here is an initially charming but, on closer inspection, rather curious drawing of a lady with a dog.  It's anonymous and tricky to date because it lacks any distinctive clothes or hairstyle but if we had to guess we reckon it could be nineteen twenties or thirties (short hair, longer stockings, high heeled shoes).  It looks French.  

Appropriately fluid lines and nice rendering in this one.

We're not sure if the dog is copying his mistress' urinary example or is ejaculating in excitement but we are certain the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would not be impressed.

Esoteric, is the word, we think, for this one!

You have read this article pissing venuses / twentieth century venuses / Venus with a dog with the title Venus with a dog. You can bookmark this page URL https://amandanamoradinha.blogspot.com/2013/06/venus-with-dog-2-cocking-her-leg.html. Thanks!

Venus with a dog 1: By Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Young woman playing with dog (La Gimblette) (1765-1772)

We have had a few pictures featuring ladies with dogs before.  There is one in our post on Mario Tauzin and another in our post on Chéri Hérouard. Artists have quite often included dogs in erotic art, not necessarily because of any desire to depict women in intimate congress with them but more, we would suggest, to imply something of the smell of a woman; particularly their nether regions, as we will see in the future.

Here we have two definitely erotic, but also delicate, works by the French artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806).  Fragonard was born in the world capital of perfume, Grasse.  Originally destined to be a notary his artistic talent was spotted, as an eighteen year old, by François Boucher and his progress was so rapid that he won the Prix de Rome even before he enrolled in the Academy.  After studying in Rome he became a favourite of the court of Louis XIV, producing a number of erotic works for private consumption.  The French Revolution deprived him of his wealthy patrons and he himself felt it sensible to leave Paris for the country where he continued to paint, contributing to his total of over 550 completed paintings. However, by the time he returned to Paris, a few years before his death, he had been totally forgotten and remained so for many decades.  Now he has been rehabilitated as one of the great masters of French painting and a precursor of the Impressionists.

Girl with Dog (1768)

Fragonard's approach to this small but distinct genre includes these two paintings which rely for their erotic effect on conveying a strong tactile sense as well as similar poses revealing the backs of the subjects' thighs.

The one above, Girl with Dog,  is on display in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.  The contact between the dog's fluffy tail and the girl's inner thighs are, no doubt, the cause of her sweet smile although it is painted in such a way to (just) allow for a more innocent explanation.

The same can be said of the top painting, Young Woman Playing with Dog.  The dog is in the shadow whereas the light in the painting is focussed on that shadowed area between her thighs.  Sometimes known as La Gimblette (a sort of pastry) Fragonard produced several versions, some now lost, where the girl is depicted as offering a pastry to the dog.  Considered very risque at the time, engravings of it were marked "not for display".

Claude Michele Clodion (1738-1814) produced a number of sculptures inspired by these pictures.

You have read this article European Art / French Venuses / painting / Sculpture / Venus with a dog with the title Venus with a dog. You can bookmark this page URL https://amandanamoradinha.blogspot.com/2013/05/venus-with-dog-1-by-jean-honore.html. Thanks!