Scene in het Daifukuya huis 1783 - 1787

Editor: This is "Scene in het Daifukuya huis," a woodblock print made between 1783 and 1787 by Torii Kiyonaga, currently housed at the Rijksmuseum. There's a sense of everyday life here, but also a feeling of formality dictated by social status. What strikes you about it? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to the socio-economic dynamics made visible through the printmaking process itself. Consider the woodblock print – a multiple, a relatively accessible medium in its time. How does its replicability challenge notions of unique artistry, especially when depicting a genre scene? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn’t considered the printing process that way. Curator: Think about the labour involved: the artist who designs, the carver who translates that design onto the wood, and the printer who applies ink and paper. These hands, often anonymous, are crucial to the final product, and the depiction of different social classes within it. How do the subjects’ clothes and gestures further reinforce ideas about material culture and class in this scene? Editor: The woman standing has much finer robes than the kneeling figure. The man in the background, too, is set apart by his dress. Curator: Exactly. And notice how the lines, crisp and precise, render these fabrics. Kiyonaga uses the woodblock medium to visually communicate societal stratifications based on what people consume and produce. Editor: So, instead of just focusing on the artistic skill, we are thinking about how the materials and process relate to social class? Curator: Precisely. We are observing how the material means of production and consumption are intricately woven into the very fabric—literally and figuratively—of this Ukiyo-e print. Editor: That’s given me a completely different way of thinking about woodblock prints. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Looking at art through the lens of its production can reveal so much about its time.