Three Beauties of the Present Day is a nishiki-e colour woodblock print
of c. 1792–93 by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro
(c. 1753–1806). The triangular composition depicts the busts of
three celebrity beauties of the time: geisha Tomimoto Toyohina (middle),
and teahouse waitresses Takashima Hisa (left) and Naniwa Kita (right),
each adorned with an identifying family crest. Subtle differences can be
detected in the faces of the subjects—a level of individualized
realism at the time unusual in ukiyo-e, and a contrast with the
stereotyped beauties in earlier masters such as Harunobu and Kiyonaga.
The triangular positioning became a vogue in the 1790s. Utamaro produced
several other pictures with this arrangement of the same three beauties,
and each appeared in numerous other portraits by Utamaro and other
artists. Utamaro was the leading ukiyo-e artist in the 1790s in the
bijin-ga genre of pictures of female beauties, and was known in
particular for his ōkubi-e, which focus on the heads. The luxurious
print was published by Tsutaya Jūzaburō and made with multiple
woodblocks—one for each colour—and the background was dusted with
muscovite to produce a glimmering effect.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Beauties_of_the_Present_Day>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1835:
The United States signed the Treaty of New Echota with leaders
of a minority Cherokee faction, which became the legal basis for the
forcible removal known as the Trail of Tears.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_New_Echota>
1891:
Physical education teacher James Naismith introduced a game in
Springfield, Massachusetts, with thirteen rules and nine players on each
team that he called "Basket Ball".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_basketball>
1911:
Sun Yat-sen was elected in Nanjing as the Provisional President
of the Republic of China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen>
1937:
The Constitution of Ireland, the founding legal document of the
state known today as the Republic of Ireland, came into force.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Ireland>
1992:
President of Brazil Fernando Collor de Mello resigned in an
attempt to stop his impeachment proceedings from continuing, but the
Senate of Brazil continued anyway, finding him guilty.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Collor_de_Mello>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nobble:
1. (UK, Australia, slang) To injure or obstruct intently; batter.
2. (UK, slang) To gain influence by corrupt means or intimidation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nobble>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had
wonderful things happen to you.
--Mary Tyler Moore
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mary_Tyler_Moore>