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