Yoshitoshi 芳年: Chang E (Jôga) Flees to the Moon 嫦娥奔月 (Sold)

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) 芳年
Title: The Chinese Goddess Chang E (Jôga) Flees to the Moon 嫦娥奔月
Series: One Hundred Aspects of the Moon 月百姿
Date: 1885

The goddess Chang E rides magical yellow clouds on her journey to become queen of the moon; she holds the jade cup containing the elixer of life in her right hand as she raises her left leg to ascend to the next cloud-step. She wears flowing patterned pantaloons and fluttering ribbons of cloth that climb into the air with her--as Stevenson noted, these are Yoshitoshi’s conception of archaic Chinese robes. This Chinese legend dates back thousands of years. Chang E is pictured so close to the moon that it fills completely the background, and only a small portion of its diameter is seen at upper left.

Condition: Excellent color and condition; very good impression.
Dimensions: ôban 35.6 x 24 cm
Publisher: Akiyama Buemon
Literature: John Stevenson, Yoshitoshi’s One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (San Francisco: San Francisco Graphic Society, 1992), number 2. See British Museum, Portland Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Signature: Yoshitoshi

SKU: YOT842