City Girl [left of a triptych of Three Beauties] c. 1830s

Curator: Oh, there's such a serene beauty about this. Mihata Jôryû, isn't she marvelous? This is *City Girl*, painted around the 1830s. It's part of a triptych, one of three beauties, all rendered in ink. The Minneapolis Institute of Art is lucky to have her! Editor: Serene is spot on. I'm struck by the intimacy. It feels as though she's about to confide a secret. And those slightly downturned eyes! It's like a little Mona Lisa moment. Curator: Indeed. The intimacy is a hallmark of Ukiyo-e, literally “pictures of the floating world.” It’s about capturing the ephemeral beauty of everyday life and popular culture, especially the lives of courtesans and actors. The whole Yamato-e tradition really valued that kind of accessible beauty. Editor: It's interesting, isn’t it, how these prints, these paintings became almost…commodities? Vessels of popular desire consumed by a burgeoning urban class in Edo. They're beautiful, yes, but also speak to something much broader. The male gaze, social mobility through art, all that jazz. Curator: Absolutely! And yet, within that framework, artists like Jôryû could imbue their subjects with such individual character. Look at the details—the precise arrangement of the hair ornaments, the subtly patterned kimono. It’s both archetype and individual. I almost get the sense of seeing her in a fleeting moment, you know? Editor: Yes! A fragile beauty held between the closed fan, there is also an unspoken drama about the female role and feminine expectations… like she is trapped in the frame of that fan, restricted and controlled. How about that heavy makeup and tightly held face? How 'free' and ‘floating’ could this existence have been, actually? Curator: I hear you. The floating world could certainly have its darker currents. And as we look at "City Girl" today, through the lens of our own world, all sorts of layers add complexity. The past refracted and reflected. Editor: Precisely! In her slightly troubled, downturned gaze, there's much that stays unknown about who the figure might be or might not be; a city girl perhaps also lost in time…