$500–$4,000. Common prints: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Ogawa Usen's literati-influenced landscapes have a niche following among collectors of nihonga-related prints.
Depicting a woman holding or playing a lute, this [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print by Ogawa Usen merges portraiture with musical subject matter. The lute in question is likely a biwa, the pear-shaped Japanese lute with deep associations in literature and visual art. Biwa players appear throughout Japanese cultural history, from the blind monk Semimaru in Noh drama to the biwa-playing women in [ukiyo-e](/glossary/ukiyo-e) prints. Usen's nihonga-trained eye brings a painterly softness to the figure, rendering her features and the instrument with flowing lines that suggest brushwork rather than the hard-edged carving typical of commercial woodblock prints. The woman-and-instrument composition is a classic [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) variant that foregrounds cultural refinement as an aspect of feminine beauty.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Woman and Lute was created by Ogawa Usen (小川芋銭).
Woman and Lute depicts music, figures, and bijin-ga.
