Kanjo: A Court Lady
ca. 1790
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
15 x 10 in. (38.1 x 25.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
JP2615
Tags
Art Historical Context
Torii Kiyonaga's *Kanjo: A Court* (ca. 1790) is a captivating woodblock print from Japan's Edo period (16151868), a time when ukiyo-e—"pictures of the floating world"—ured the vibrant urban life of cities like Edo (modern Tokyo). As a leading figure in the Torii school, Kiyonaga specialized in bijin-ga, elegant portrayals of beautiful women, blending grace with subtle sensuality. This intimate 15 x 10 in. (38.1 x 25.4 cm) print, inked and colored on paper, exemplifies the democratic appeal of woodblock prints, which made high art accessible to merchants and commoners through affordable edition...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...