After the Bath A3 Print

Torii Kotondo is considered one of the great masters of Shin-hanga, a 20th Century Japanese art movement which revitalised the traditional ukiyo-e style rooted in the Edo and Meiji periods. Inspired by European Impressionism, Shin-hanga incorporated Western elements such as the effects of light and the expression of individual moods, but focused on traditional Japanese themes: landscapes (fukeiga), famous places (meishō), beautiful women (bijinga), kabuki actors (yakusha-e), and birds-and-flowers (kachō-e).

Torri has captured this ‘bijinga’, wrapped in a light bathrobe, all flush faced and passing through the curtained door of a public bathhouse. The pigment on the curtain was printed using a baren to create the mottled, textured effect. It’s a wonderful example of Shin-hanga with a contemporary attention to detail.

Would sit beautifully next to our Goyo Hashiguchi ‘Applying Makeup Print’.