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| Artist: | Torii Kotondo (1900-1976) — 鳥居言人 |
| Title: | Utatane- A nap (silver mica background) — うたっ寝 |
| Series: | |
| Date of first edition?: | 1933/2 |
| Date of this artwork?: | 1933 February (may not be accurate) |
| Publisher (first edition)?: | Ikeda — 池田 |
| Publisher (this edition)?: | Ikeda — 池田 |
| Medium (first edition): | Woodblock |
| Medium (this edition): | Woodblock |
| Format (first edition): | Large Oban
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| Format (this edition): | Large Oban |
| DB artwork code: | 37489 |
| Notes (first edition)?: |
Artist Kotondo, Torii, 1900-1977 Title A Nap Dated February 1933 (confirmed). Limited edition of only 100 prints, after which the blocks were destroyed.
I have seen both "A Nap" and "Hair Combing" marked as scene number 7. One of them must be scene 8 in reality. Ikeda published a total of 12 scenes.
Medium woodblock Dimensions 16 x 10 inches Illustrated Beauties, pl. 177-2 |
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| Notes (this edition)?: |
The following information was taken from the original web listing of this artwork. Note that there may be some inaccuracies:
Wednesday, 30 March 2005
Torii Kotondo (1900-1976) Utatane, "A nap". See The female image nos.177-1 and 177-2, p.132. This impression has a silver mica ground. Published by Ikeda Showa 5 (1930). Limited edition seal au verso, no.53 from 100.
Perfect impression and colour. Minor toning in margin, otherwise perfect condition. Signed Kotondo ga with seal.
Note: another copy of this print in the database is also reported to be edition 53, so it would seem the reading of the edition seal on one of the prints was read incorrectly. |
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| Artist Bio: |
Torii Kotondo (or Torii Kiyotada VIII) is renowned for his paintings and shin hanga prints of beautiful women. His woodblock prints, superbly carved and printed, are comparable with those of Hashiguchi Goyo and Ito Shinsui. Kotondo was born with the name Saito Akira in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. He was the only son among the five children of Torii Kiyotada, the seventh Torii master. The Torii school had a long tradition of painting and printmaking for the Japanese theater, extending back to the seventeenth century. Kabuki theater was still very popular in the early twentieth century and prints and painted posters were the primary means of publicity. Although Kotondo was mainly interested in studying history and archaeology, it was assumed that he would follow in his father's footsteps and join the Torii school. At age 14, Kotondo agreed to leave school and begin studies with Kobori Tomone, a yamato-e painter. Along with painting classes, Tomone taught Kotondo about the court and military practices of ancient Japan, satisfying his interest in history. A year later, he was officially adopted as the next heir of the Torii school and assumed the artist's name 'Kotondo'. While still studying with Tomone, he began designing illustrations for a theatrical magazine, Engei Gaho ('Entertainment Illustrated Magazine'), and painted kabuki posters and billboards. Torii Kotondo was the 8th Torii and the 5th Torii Kiyotada. His father was the 4th Kiyotada.
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