Fan Vendor

1790s

Not on view

Fan vendors in Edo were reputedly fashionable, handsome boys who attracted girls' attention. This seems to be the case here, where the vendor is showing a fan painted with the face of the Zen master Daruma to a beautiful young woman. Utamaro, however, has depicted the painting on the fan with such vigor that the Daruma seems as animated as the figures in this scene. With his finger in his mouth in a traditional gesture of envy, he appears to be beside himself with jealousy over the flirting young couple. The picture within the picture of the venerable first patriarch of Zen Buddhism caught in a humorous foible adds to the light-hearted eroticism of the scene.

Artwork Details

Title: Fan Vendor
Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754–1806)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 1790s
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: H. 14 7/8 in. (37.8 cm); W. 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914
Object Number: JP983
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Kitagawa Utamaro

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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“Preparing Food for the Warbler,” from the album Men’s Stamping Dance (Otoko dōka, uguisu no esa suri)

, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Page from a woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper, Japan — “Preparing Food for the Warbler,” from the album Men’s Stamping Dance (Otoko dōka, uguisu no esa suri)
Kitagawa Utamaro
1798

The Lady Tomimoto Toyohina Reading a Letter, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — The Lady Tomimoto Toyohina Reading a Letter
Kitagawa Utamaro
1790

Women Preparing Sashimi, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Women Preparing Sashimi
Kitagawa Utamaro
1806–20

In the Kitchen, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Right-hand sheet of a diptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — In the Kitchen
Kitagawa Utamaro
ca. 1794–95

Girl Fishers and Bathers, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Girl Fishers and Bathers
Kitagawa Utamaro
1791

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