TRAVELER’S DIARY: Geishas

“The Art of Love in the Time of Geishas: Forbidden Japanese Masterpieces” is part of the Pinacothèque de Paris exhibitions dedicated to the Art and Eroticism in the Orient. In the softly lit rooms of the Pinacothèque de Paris, is shown a tantalizing glimpse of the life of courtesans and the erotic fantasies of the Japanese bourgeois. The exhibition gives us a peek into the erotic life and culture in Japan during the age of Edo (1603-1867).

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Pinacothèque de Paris Archive

The Edo period’s prosperity favoured the birth of a dominant middle class at the core of the great Japanese cities: the Chonin (city-dewellers). Those shopkeepers, artisans, doctors, teachers or artists enhanced, thanks to the approach of the ukiyo-e cultural movement, a hedonistic conception of life that was in contrast to the neo-Confucian Japanese culture of the governing warrior classes. The prints in this art form either fall into the category of bijinga, beautiful women, or shunga, erotic images. Although erotic art has been around in Japan since the age of Kamakura (1185-1333), it was the prosperity of the age of Edo that brought about a new cultural movement, the ukiyo-e. They are a snapshot of the tastes and habits of the period and a reflection of the refined, luxurious and modern way of life of this flourishing bourgeois class. Thanks to the secret distribution of these prints throughout Europe as soon as Japan opened up to the West in 1868, were particularly popular in erotically-obsessed Paris, they came to influence Western art. Artists from Manet to Van Gogh were captivated by Japanese erotic art, and they are still powerful images today. The exhibition is divided into four sections in chronological order, showing the development of the genre. First “The Pillow’s Poetry” which includes works from the early 17th century to the late 18th century, and shows that although racy in subject matter, these images are rooted in literature. This follows into “Literature and Art 1760-1790” where you can marvel at the feminine ideals of the époque- courtesans with faces like porcelain dolls in kimonos of delicate colours, as rendered by great artists Harunobu and Koryusai. The third section is rather more daring, “The Introspective Vision’ 1790-1820” demonstrates the physical results of the intellectual study of love. The exhibition ends with a more aggressive eroticism: “Love and Fury” which spans from 1820 to the early 20th century. It boasts work from artists such as Hokusai, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi and Hiroshige, and offers an insight into the decadent age of Meiji (1868-1912).

Info: “The Art of love in the time of Geishas” Pinacothèque de Paris, 28 Place de la Madeleine, Paris, Duration: 6/11/14-15/2/15, Days & Hours: Wed-Mon: 10:30-18:30, www.pinacotheque.com/fr.html