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Portrait of Torii Kiyomitsu

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Artist in the Global Art Registry

Torii Kiyomitsu

1735–1785 · Japanese

Born
1735 · Tokyo
Died
1785

38 works in the Collect24 Registry

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Torii Kiyomitsu was a painter and printmaker of the Torii school of Japanese ukiyo-e art and the third head of the school. He divided his work between actor prints and bijinga, primarily using the benizuri-e technique.

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Torii Kiyomitsu (鳥居 清満; 1735 – May 11, 1785) was a painter and printmaker of the Torii school of Japanese ukiyo-e art; the son of Torii Kiyonobu II or Torii Kiyomasu II, he was the third head of the school, and was originally called Kamejirō before taking the gō Kiyomitsu. Dividing his work between actor prints and bijinga (pictures of beautiful women), he primarily used the benizuri-e technique prolific at the time, which involved using one or two colors of ink on the woodblocks rather than hand-coloring; full-color prints would be introduced later in Kiyomitsu's career, in 1765. Though scholars generally note his kabuki prints as lacking originality, they see a grace, beauty, and "dream-like quality" in his prints of young men and women which, at times, rivals that of the work of Suzuki Harunobu, who was just beginning his career at this time. Kiyomitsu continued to produce the billboards and other kabuki-related materials which were the domain of the Torii school, and in those works he was quite traditional and retrospective in his style. However, he was more or less the first Torii artist to experiment outside that field, and to truly emerge into the wider mainstream of ukiyo-e styles, adapting to the use of new techniques and popular subjects. Overall, it is said that the workshop flourished under his direction, but the core "Torii style" was not truly changed or advanced. Two of his greatest pupils were Torii Kiyotsune, who faithfully continued the Torii traditions, and Torii Kiyonaga, who went on to be a master and innovator in his own right.

Biography source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

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38

Registered works

38

In museum collections

0

In gallery collections

0

In private collections

Featured works

Selected registered works by Torii Kiyomitsu

Selected from 38 works by Torii Kiyomitsu in the Collect24 Registry.

Torii Kiyomitsu, Segawa Kikunojo (Roko) Holding an Umbrella

Torii Kiyomitsu

Segawa Kikunojo (Roko) Holding an Umbrella, c. early 1760s

color woodblock print

40 × 17.6 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-197270

Torii Kiyomitsu, Bando Hikosaburo as Hanaregoma Chokichi Holding His Black Horse

Torii Kiyomitsu

Bando Hikosaburo as Hanaregoma Chokichi Holding His Black Horse, ca. 1756

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

30.5 × 14.6 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-268750

Torii Kiyomitsu, The Actor Yamashita Kinsaku in the Role of Mutsuhana

Torii Kiyomitsu

The Actor Yamashita Kinsaku in the Role of Mutsuhana, ca. 1767

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.1 × 14 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-253088

Torii Kiyomitsu, The Actor Sanogawa Ichimitsu in Role of Kumenosuke

Torii Kiyomitsu

The Actor Sanogawa Ichimitsu in Role of Kumenosuke, 1735–1785

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

30.8 × 13.7 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-253085

Torii Kiyomitsu, The Actor Iwai Hanshiro as a Courtesan Reading a Love Letter while Mounted on a Black Ox

Torii Kiyomitsu

The Actor Iwai Hanshiro as a Courtesan Reading a Love Letter while Mounted on a Black Ox, ca. 1763

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

29.2 × 14 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-263953

Torii Kiyomitsu, Kabuki Actors Ichikawa Raizō I and Bandō Hikosaburō II

Torii Kiyomitsu

Kabuki Actors Ichikawa Raizō I and Bandō Hikosaburō II, 1767

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.1 × 14.9 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-240665

Torii Kiyomitsu, The Actor Ichikawa Komazo as the Peddler Soga no Juro Sukenari

Torii Kiyomitsu

The Actor Ichikawa Komazo as the Peddler Soga no Juro Sukenari, 1761

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

30.2 × 14 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-235421

Torii Kiyomitsu, Bando Hikosaburo II as Sanada no Yoichi

Torii Kiyomitsu

Bando Hikosaburo II as Sanada no Yoichi, early 1760s

color woodblock print

29.6 × 13.8 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-222676

Torii Kiyomitsu, Sanokawa Ichimatsu I in Grayish Blue and Rose Walking Toward the Left

Torii Kiyomitsu

Sanokawa Ichimatsu I in Grayish Blue and Rose Walking Toward the Left, 1756

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.1 × 14.3 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-266013

Torii Kiyomitsu, The Actor Nakamura Tomijuro in the Role of Koshizuka

Torii Kiyomitsu

The Actor Nakamura Tomijuro in the Role of Koshizuka, ca. 1767

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

30.2 × 13.7 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-253611

Torii Kiyomitsu, Scene from the Drama "Matsu wa tai fusuma no wakesato"

Torii Kiyomitsu

Scene from the Drama "Matsu wa tai fusuma no wakesato", 1757 or 1758

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

32.1 × 14.6 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-235396

Torii Kiyomitsu, Children Play-acting a Daimyo Procession

Torii Kiyomitsu

Children Play-acting a Daimyo Procession, ca. 1763

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

30.8 × 41.9 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-235390

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