Buying Potted Plants, from the series "A Brocade of Eastern Manners (Fuzoku Azuma no nishiki)"
c. 1783/84
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
39.6 × 26.6 cm (15 5/8 × 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22579
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with *Buying Potted Plants*, captivating color woodblock print by Torii Kiyonaga from his renowned series *A Brocade Eastern Manners (Foku Azuma no niki)*, created around 1783–84. This oban-sized print (39.6 × 26.6 cm) depicts elegant women selecting potted plants at a bustling street market, capturing the everyday grace and social rituals of urban life. Kiyonaga, a leading figure in the ukiyo-e tradition—"pictures of the floating world"—excelled in bijin-ga, or images of beautiful women, blending delicate figures with lively s...
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...