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Student Artwork Guide

Two courtesans

Suzuki Harunobu

Name Class Date
Suzuki Harunobu, Two courtesans. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Suzuki Harunobu topimpressionists.com/en/artists/suzuki-harunobu/
Artist’s dates
1725 – 1770
Movement
Ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints of actors, city pleasures and landscapes, printed cheaply for ordinary buyers.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Suzuki Harunobu died in 1770; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1840.

Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

Two courtesans — Suzuki Harunobu Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Two courtesans — Suzuki Harunobu

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1720
  2. 1730
  3. 1740
  4. 1750
  5. 1760
  6. 1770

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 45 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of Suzuki Harunobu (1725–1770) every dated painting, decade by decade

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: topimpressionists.com/en/art/similar/suzuki-harunobu-two-courtesans-9HTVD5-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Walnut #805e3c

    Catalogued palette

    • #805E3C
    • #BB9A75
    • #41190F
    • #67462B

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Earthy The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Walnut
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Gentle How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Strong Color Unity How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Shadow How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Suzuki Harunobu over the last twelve months — 17 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 73.9%
    2. 2 United States of America 7.6%
    3. 3 Philippines 2.9%
    4. 4 Romania 2.9%
    5. 5 Singapore 2.9%
    6. 6 Portugal 2.5%
    7. 7 Australia 1.3%
    8. 8 Greece 1.3%
    9. 9 Hong Kong 1.3%
    10. 10 Argentina 0.4%
    11. · 7 other countries 3.0%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Suzuki Harunobu

    1. 1 Osen 3.0%
    2. 2 Women Embracing In A Green House 2.6%
    3. 3 Young Woman Jumping From The Kiyomizu Temple Balcony With An Umbrella As A Parachute 2.2%
    4. 4 Ofuji 1.9%
    5. 5 Hunting for fireflies, 1768 1.5%
    6. 6 Fulling Cloth At The Jewel River 1.5%
    7. 7 Woman With Branch Of Yamabuki 1.5%
    8. 8 Beautiful Courtesan Motoura 1.1%
    9. 9 The Birth Of The First Child 1.1%
    10. 10 A Man And Woman Reading A Letter In The Kotatsu 1.1%
    11. 11 Actor Segawa Kikunojô Ii As The Courtesan Umegae 1.1%
    12. 12 Chôfu Jewel River 1.1%
    13. 13 Making The Rooster Drunk To Prevent His Crowing At Dawn 0.7%
    14. 14 Tea House 0.7%
    15. 15 Couple Playing A Kokyû Together 0.7%
    16. 16 Kumagai Naozane And Taira No Atsumori At Ichinotani 0.7%
    17. 17 Courtesan Blowing Smoke In Man's Face 0.7%
    18. 18 Woman Holding Wrist Of Man With A Hood Over His Head And Face 0.7%
    19. 19 Young Woman Under A Peach Tree 0.7%
    20. 176 Two courtesans this painting 0.4%

    Together these works take 25.0% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 861 works by this artist, of which 186 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 176 of them, with 0.4% of that attention. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Two courtesans — Suzuki Harunobu Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Suzuki Harunobu

    Born in Tokyo, Japan

    early life and influences

    suzuki harunobu, a japanese designer of woodblock print art in the ukiyo-e style, was born in 1725. little is known about his early life, but it is believed he grew up in kyoto. his work shows evidence of influences from many artists, including torii kiyomitsu, ishikawa toyonobu, the kawamata school, and the kanō school. however, the strongest influence upon harunobu was the painter and printmaker nishikawa sukenobu, who may have been harunobu's direct teacher.

    artistic career

    harunobu began his career in the style of the torii school, creating many works that were skillful but not innovative. however, with his involvement with a group of literati samurai, he tackled new formats and styles. in 1764, harunobu was chosen to aid these samurai in their amateur efforts to create e-goyomi (calendars). these calendar prints would be the first nishiki-e (brocade prints), with harunobu experimenting with better woods for the woodblocks and using more expensive colors.

    notable works and innovations

    suzuki harunobu's "brocade prints" led to full-color production becoming standard, with ten or more blocks used to create each print.

    his use of multiple separate woodblocks in the creation of a single image was an innovation that depended on using notches and wedges to hold the paper in place.

    harunobu's prints were popular with the chōnin class, who had become wealthy enough to afford to decorate their homes with them.

    legacy

    suzuki harunobu's work was central to forming the west's perception of japanese art in the late 19th century. his influence can be seen in the landscapes of hokusai and hiroshige, which were popularized during the japonisme trend.

    view suzuki harunobu's artworks on AllPaintingsStore

    read more about suzuki harunobu on wikipedia

    explore ukiyo-e art on AllPaintingsStore

    notable paintings and artists

    utagawa hiroshige's kyoka tokaido series, seki (view on AllPaintingsStore)

    miyagawa isshō's shimabara courtesans exorcizing demons (view on AllPaintingsStore)

    utagawa kuniyoshi's a votive tablet with masks of kabuki actors at face value (view on AllPaintingsStore)

    museums and collections

    indianapolis museum of art (indianapolis, united states)

    fukuoka city museum (fukuoka, japan)

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Two courtesans

    topimpressionists.com/en/art/download/suzuki-harunobu-two-courtesans-9HTVD5-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Harunobu, Suzuki. Two courtesans. n.d., https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/suzuki-harunobu-two-courtesans-9HTVD5-en/
    APA
    Harunobu, Suzuki (n.d.). Two courtesans [Painting]. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/suzuki-harunobu-two-courtesans-9HTVD5-en/
    Chicago
    Suzuki Harunobu. Two courtesans. n.d. https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/suzuki-harunobu-two-courtesans-9HTVD5-en/
    Harvard
    Harunobu, Suzuki (n.d.) Two courtesans. Available at: https://topimpressionists.com/en/art/suzuki-harunobu-two-courtesans-9HTVD5-en/

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Two courtesans — Suzuki Harunobu Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Two courtesans — Suzuki Harunobu

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: japanese courtesans, edo period art, ukiyo-e prints. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at Title Name(Japanese): 輿入, earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Ukiyo-e: Japanese woodblock prints of actors, city pleasures and landscapes, printed cheaply for ordinary buyers. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: TopImpressionists.com — accessed Sept. 27, 2026

    Two courtesans — Suzuki Harunobu Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    How harmonious are the colors of "Two courtesans" by Suzuki Harunobu?

    "Two courtesans" by Suzuki Harunobu displays a strong color unity color harmony.

    Why is the copyright status of "Two courtesans" what it is?

    The copyright status of "Two courtesans" - in the public domain - its copyright has expired - follows from the artist's death in 1770.

    Who sells hand-painted copies of "Two courtesans" by Suzuki Harunobu?

    Hand-painted copies of "Two courtesans" by Suzuki Harunobu are sold on this website: a hand-painted oil reproduction on linen canvas, ordered from its Hand-Painted Reproduction page.