This exhibition features a selection of fifty works, many displayed to the public for the first time, by great masters of these mediums, including Utamaro and Harunobu. All works are part of the Pins Collection of Asian Art, comprising over 500 prints, paintings, and sculptures, donated by Jacob Pins in 2000 to the Israel Museum. Mr. Pins is a prominent Israeli collector of Japanese art and a renowned woodblock artist.

“The prints and scroll paintings from the Pins collection depict an idealized world in which courtesans lead a glamorous life, in contrast to the realities of the day,” says Etty Glass-Gissis, Assistant Curator of Asian Art, and curator of the exhibition. “Among the works on view are ‘pillar prints’ in which the viewer is provided with a glimpse into the world of Japanese courtesans through a narrow aperture, stimulating the viewer's imagination to see beyond what is revealed.”

Japanese Pleasures is one of several exhibitions on view at the Israel Museum during this season that explore contemporary and historical currents in Japanese art and culture. “This exceptional display of woodblock prints, together with the other exhibitions that comprise our season of Japanese art, offer a window onto significant moments in the cultural development of modern Japan,” states James S. Snyder, the Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. “We are grateful to Jacob Pins for enabling us to share these works with our public and for assisting us in our ongoing initiative to present art from all world cultures for our audiences in Israel.”

The Kabuki Theater and the Pleasure Quarter, the most popular means of entertainment in 18th century Japan, are closely related to the art of woodblock print artists of the time. Prints were used to advertise plays and to feature popular actors and were hung on theater buildings and in various locations throughout the city, or as fashion catalogues, featuring courtesans in their finery. The woodblock printing technique enabled the economical production of large quantities of prints, allowing for their widespread circulation. They were purchased mostly by the lower classes as souvenirs.

Many of the woodblock prints on display portray the vivid atmosphere of the Pleasure Quarter, which served as a form of escapism from the troubles of everyday life. Artists drew inspiration from the illusionary images of glamour, pleasure, and joy represented by courtesans. In one woodblock, created by Kikugawa Eizan in the late 18th century, a high-ranking courtesan dressed in a richly patterned kimono, with her smooth and elegantly shaped hairdo adorned with expensive tortoise shell combs and hairpins, parades leisurely toward a teahouse, accompanied by her attendants and a servant. Her delicate features, elegant bearing, and fashionable kimono emphasize the aesthetic ideals of feminine beauty represented by courtesans.

The exhibition is made possible by the donors to the Israel Museum's 2004 Exhibition Fund: Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond J. Learsy, Aspen, Colorado; Hanno D. Mott, New York; and The Nash Family Foundation, New York.

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

The Israel Museum is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the leading art and archaeology museums in the world. Founded in 1965, the Museum houses encyclopedic collections ranging from pre-history through contemporary art, including the most extensive holdings of Biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world, among them the Dead Sea Scrolls. In over thirty-five years, the Museum has built a far-ranging collection of nearly 500,000 objects through an unparalleled legacy of gifts and support from its circle of patrons worldwide. It has established itself both as an internationally valued institution and as a singularly rich cultural resource for Israel, the Middle East, and the world.

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