Clock and a Beauty (I)
by Ito Shinsui
- Date:
- 1964
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 32.7 × 23.8 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
by Ito Shinsui
Shinsui is Japan's preeminent shin-hanga bijin-ga master. His "Modern Beauties" and related series remain in strong demand, with provenance from notable collections (Freddie Mercury's collection appeared at Sotheby's 2023) adding premium value.
A woman poses beside a Western-style mantel clock in this 1964 [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga)—the first of what appears to be a series pairing traditional feminine beauty with the modern Western timepiece. The "Clock and a Beauty" compositions represent Shinsui's late-career meditation on the juxtaposition of Japanese feminine ideal and Western modernity, a tension that had defined Japanese cultural life for a century. The specificity of the object—not just "clock" but a particular style—anchors the woman in a specific moment of postwar Japanese domestic culture.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Clock and a Beauty (I) was created by Ito Shinsui (伊東深水) in 1964.
Clock and a Beauty (I) was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1964).
Clock and a Beauty (I) depicts bijin-ga.
Clock and a Beauty (I) measures 32.7 × 23.8 cm (Oban format).
