Love-Smitten Demons
c. 1782
Medium
Color woodblock print; hashira-e
Dimensions
67.5 × 12.2 cm (26 5/8 × 4 13/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
23188
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Two demons are seated upon a floating cloud, entranced by the beauty of a tall woman who stands on the ground below. The pink demon uses a spyglass to get a better view. This type of tall and narrow print is called a hashira-e, or “pillar print,” because it was meant to be pasted onto an interior architectural pillar.
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...