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Torii Kotondo Signed Pre-War Japanese Woodblock Print Steam Bath Yuge Vapor 1929

About the Item

A beautiful and strongly composed woodblock print by renowned Japanese painter/artist Torii Kotondo. This work, titled Steam (Steam Bath)/ Vapor (Yuge), is a highly coveted pre-war printing done in 1929 (the title "Yuge" is embossed on the bottom margin) and features a lovely, graceful, semi-nude pale-skinned beauty drying the side of her face after her morning bath. She is adorned with a colorful comb and a red tie-dyed ribbon pulling her hair back in a bun so that the outline of her neck and shoulders are revealed. With her pensive expression, she represents the ideal of Japanese feminine beauty. The print has the publisher's seals embossed at the lower left corner, Sakai and Kawaguchi go ban (joint venture). The blocks were carved by Ito and printed by Komatsu Wasakichi. The work is signed in ink on the far right by Kotondo and also has his circular red seal. Torii Kotondo was born in 1900 (under the name Saito Akira). At the age of 15, he was adopted by Torii Kiyotada, head of the printmaking Torii family. Kotondo became a painter and woodblock printer of the Torii school of ukiyo-e artists. He is most famous and celebrated for his twenty-one bijin-ga (images of beautiful Japanese women). These works were not without some controversy as authorities considered one of these prints "Morning Hair" done in 1930 to be overly provocative and banned it after seventy of its hundred copies had already been sold (the remaining thirty were destroyed). Kotondo passed away in 1976. Kotondo's works can today be found in numerous collections and museums including the British Museum in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Walters Art Museum, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Boston MFA), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Smithsonian National Museum of Art, Washington DC, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Australia, to name a few. A rare and scarce print. This work would be a great addition to any collectors of Kotondo's work or Japanese /Asian print collection or eye-catching stand-alone accent piece in about any setting. Print dimensions: 18" high, 12" wide.

Dimensions:

Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)Depth: 0.1 in (2.54 mm)

Style:

Showa (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Paper

Place of Origin:

Japan

Period:

1920-1929

Date of Manufacture:

1929

Condition:

The print is in very good vintage condition with some light toning and mild handling creasing to the paper's margins/edges (please see photos). Very good impression, color, and state. Beautiful and engaging overall.

Seller Location:

Studio City, CA

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU2254334459462

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