Mattia Jona, Master Drawings and Prints, Japanese Prints - Piazzetta Guastalla 5, 20122 Milan, Italy, tel (+39) 02 8053315

Attributed to KEISAI EISEN (1790 - 1848) TWO LOVERS NEAR A BLACK LACQUERED MIRROR
Woodcut, c. 1825. Very good impression and colours; a light and unobtrusive trace of a vertical fold, otherwise in very good condition. 'Oban yoko-e' 254 x 380 mm. For another impression of this print (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam RP-P-2001-18) see Chris Uhlenbeck and Margarita Winkel, 'Japanese Erotic Fantasies, Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period', Amsterdam, 2005, no. 58a, illustrated in colour.

At an early age, Eisen was apprenticed to a Kano style painting master, later he had some connection with Kikugawa Eizan, the leading master of the day in the field of the depiction of beatiful women. Eisen produced an high number of series of beautiful woman prints, as well as erotic prints, some important and original landscape sets, and excellent surimono (privately issued prints).