Torii Kotondo - A native of Tokyo, Torii Kotondo was one of the great shin-hanga masters who excelled in the art of the beauty print. Prints such as his exquisite nude "Kamisuki," the demure beauty in the print titled "Sash," and his lovely image of a young woman in winter in "Peony Snowflakes" are all classic examples of Kotondo's mastery of bijin-ga. Kotondo's prints are considered some of the most stunning beauty designs and great masterworks of the 20th century woodblock print tradition. His output of prints was a very small (22 works total), and the number of prints produced of each image was also limited. Original Kotondo prints are very rare and highly sought after by collectors today.

Long Undergarment, Rare Color Variant, 1929 - Lovely portrait of a beauty relaxing in a long undergarment commonly worn under a kimono. She sits on a light green cushion, a folding fan in hand, smiling slightly as she looks over her shoulder. She sits with her back to the viewer, exposing the nape of her neck, considered a sensuous area. Allover swirling baren marks in the background create a delicate pattern, and the fan has embossed lines. Published as a commemorative reprint by Ishukankokai in the 1980s, this subject normally features a red and white patterned kimono with a violet obi and collar. This extremely rare color variant has a soft orange kimono with bokashi shading to add a sense of volume, a mauve obi, and a light gray collar. The color of the cushion has also changed from blue to light green. This is the first printing in this color scheme that we have ever seen, and we were only able to find one other known example. A fantastic opportunity to acquire an incredibly rare and lovely commemorative Torii Kotondo beauty portrait..

Publisher - Ishukankokai, with red moneybag seal

Artist - Torii Kotondo (1900 - 1976)

Image Size - 16 1/4" x 10 1/4" + margins as shown

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Small, very faint smudge at edge. Please see photos for details. Otherwise excellent condition.