Visverkoper 1801

Editor: This is "Visverkoper" – or "Fish Seller" – created in 1801 by Utagawa Toyokuni II, a Japanese woodblock print currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. It feels like a very intimate scene, with careful detail paid to the patterns of the kimonos and the textures of the fish. What first stands out to you when you look at it? Curator: My gaze is immediately drawn to the central figure and that magnificent tuna. Note how it dominates the scene. In Japanese art and culture, fish are potent symbols. They can represent prosperity, luck, and even virility. Do you see how the fish seller's direct gaze towards the viewer engages us immediately, forging connection and establishing intimacy, particularly concerning our interaction with this food and perhaps with this person, laden as he is with cultural associations? Editor: That's fascinating. So, it's not just about depicting everyday life, but also hinting at deeper meanings embedded in their culture? Curator: Precisely. The surrounding figures too - observe the subtle interplay of textiles and movement, almost as if revealing both action and quiet reflection in the composition. Does this interplay alter our relationship to the work and shift or challenge what is deemed as everyday and as symbolically loaded? Editor: I see what you mean! The woman holding the tea kettle creates a domestic stillness, while the fishmonger is caught mid-action. Thank you! This really deepens my understanding of the print. Curator: My pleasure. Considering cultural significance, the piece is about something even larger and about continuities across time. The seemingly mundane is always an intersection.