Courtesan

The woman portrayed in this early painting by Hokusai holds the edge of her garment in her mouth, a gesture that signifies passion, perhaps inspired by the love letter she clutches in her right hand. Her sinuous pose, curved like a reversed "S", is highly stylized and closely resembles the pose portrayed in The Princess from the Land of Porcelain, painted by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) and exhibited in the Freer gallery's Peacock Room. Whistler's work reflects many ideas from his observation of Japanese art. Both Whistler's Princess and this painting by Hokusai were purchased in 1903 by Charles Lang Freer, who is likely to have recognized the similar pose in the Japanese work.