A Fan Peddler Passing Beneath a Balcony
c. 1786
Medium
Color woodblock prints; vertical oban diptych
Dimensions
38.1 × 25.9 cm (top sheet), 38.5 × 26.2 cm (bottom sheet)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21716
Art Historical Context
Torii Kiyonaga's *A Fan Peddler Beneath a Balcony*c. 1786) captures a fleeting moment of everyday life in Edo-period Japan (modern-day Tokyo). This vertical oban diptych—two joined color woodblock prints measuring about 38 x 26 cm each—depicts a street vendor hawking fans below a wooden balcony, likely observed by elegant women above. Kiyonaga, a leading figure in the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), mastered serene genre scenes blending urban bustle with poetic grace. As a master of the Torii school, Kiyonaga elevated bijin-ga (images of beautiful women) and fuzoku-e (customs and ...
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...