Knocking the snow from a pair of clogs
c. 1730s
Medium
Hand-colored woodblock print; hosoban, urushi-e
Dimensions
31.8 × 14.9 cm (12 1/2 × 6 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88884
Art Historical Context
**Knocking the Snow from a Pair of Clogs** by Torii Kiyomasu II (active c. 1700–1763) captures a charming slice of everyday life in Edo-period Japan during the 1730s. As a master of the Torii school, Kiyomasu II specialized in ukiyo-e—"pictures of the floating world"—woodblock prints that celebrated the transient pleasures of urban culture, from theater actors to graceful women in daily routines. This intimate scene likely depicts a figure brushing snow from traditional geta clogs, evoking the quiet beauty of a winter moment amid Japan's bustling Yoshiwara pleasure district or city streets. P...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyomasu II · 1706–1763
At one point this artist was incorrectly identified as Kiyonobu II.