19th CENTURY JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINT OF ACTOR SAWAMURA CHOJURO BY TOKOYUNI III
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19th CENTURY JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINT OF ACTOR SAWAMURA CHOJURO BY TOKOYUNI III:
$21.71
Untitled DocumentBe sure to check out all of our exquisite and rare items up for sale this week!RARE 19th CENTURY JAPANESE WOODBLOCK
PRINTOF ACTORACTOR SAWAMURA CHOJURO
BY UTAGAWA KUNISADA / TOKOYUNI IIIOne of Japan\'s most prolific Ukiyo-e artists!* !
- Subject of the print is kabuki actor Sawamura Chojuro
- Measurements:9\" x 12.75\" unframed
- Provenance: From a Hawaii estate
- Condition: Condition is as viewed. If you have any questions or would like to see further photos, please contact us and we would be happy to oblige you.
About Kunisada / Tokoyuni III:
Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
Although not much is known of the details of Kunisada\'s life, there are some well-established records of particular events. He was born in 1786 in Honjo, an Eastern district of Edo. His given name was Sumida Shōgorō IX (角田庄五朗), and he was also called Sumida Shōzō (角田庄蔵). A small licensed and hereditary ferry-boat service belonged to his family, and the income derived from this business provided a certain basic financial security. His father, who was an amateur poet of some renown, died in the year after his birth. While growing up, he developed an early talent for painting and drawing. His early sketches at that time impressed Toyokuni, the great master of the Utagawa school and prominent designer of kabuki and actor-portrait prints. In the year 1800 or shortly thereafter Kunisada was accepted by Toyokuni I as an apprentice in his workshop. In keeping with a tradition of Japanese master-apprentice relations, he was then given the official artist name of \"KUNI-sada\", the first character of which was derived from the second part of the name \"Toyo-KUNI\".
Following the traditional pattern of the Utagawa school, Kunisada\'s main occupation was kabuki and actor prints, and about 60% of his designs fall in this category. However he was also highly active in the area of bijin-ga prints (comprising about 15% of his complete works), and their total number was far higher than any other artist of his time. From 1820 to 1860 he likewise dominated the market for portraits of sumo wrestlers. For a long time (1835–1850) he had an almost complete monopoly on the genre of prints related to The Tale of Genji; it was only after 1850 that other artists began to produce similar designs. Noteworthy also are the number of his surimono, and although they were designed almost exclusively prior to 1844, few artists were better-known in this area.[Portrait of the artist Utagawa Kunisada / Tokoyuni III]
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* Note from ManuAntiquesAs Japanese woodblock prints are not our area of expertise,
we can only attest to the fact that this is the information
provided to us at the time we acquired this print.
19th CENTURY JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINT OF ACTOR SAWAMURA CHOJURO BY TOKOYUNI III:
$21.71