Utagawa Kuniyasu (歌川 国安, 1794–1832) was a Japanese artist best known for his prints in the ukiyo-e style as a member of the Utagawa school.

Life and career

Few details are known of Kuniyasu's life. He was born in 1794 and had the given name Yasugorō. His teacher was the Utagawa school master Toyokuni.[1]

Kuniyasu's earliest surviving work is his illustrations to the book Hanashi no momochidori (噺の百千鳥). He illustrated about a hundred books throughout his career, and designed hundreds of stand-alone prints of beauties (bijin-ga) and actors (yakusha-e).[1]

Kuniyasu also used the art names Ippōsai and Nishikawa Yasunobu. He died at age 39 in the seventh month of 1832. Works of his continued to be issued following his death, which may suggest they were popular.[1]

His work is held in the permanent collections of several museums worldwide, including the Indianapolis Museum of Art,[2] the Victoria and Albert Museum,[3] the Philadelphia Museum of Art,[4] the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,[5] the Weatherspoon Art Museum,[6] the British Museum,[7] the University of Michigan Museum of Art,[8] the Van Gogh Museum,[9] the Cooper Hewitt,[10] and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Marks 2012, p. 128.
  2. ^ "Woman Standing in Street". Indianapolis Museum of Art Online Collection. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  3. ^ Museum, Victoria and Albert. "Geisha | Utagawa Kuniyasu | V&A Explore The Collections". Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  4. ^ "Philadelphia Museum of Art - Collections Object : Mimasu Gennosuke I and Sakata Hangorō IV as Two Priests (right panel) and Bandō Mitsugorō III as a Shirabyōshi Dancer (left panel)". www.philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  5. ^ "Poem from the Hôji Hyakushu: Courtesan Holding Pillow". collections.mfa.org. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  6. ^ "Weatherspoon Art Museum - Shamisen". weatherspoonartmuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  7. ^ "album; print; surimono | British Museum". The British Museum. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  8. ^ "Exchange: Onoe Kikugorô [III] as Maruko[fox role?] and Kiriyama Monji as ..." exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  9. ^ "The Actor Segawa Kikunojō in the Role of Koharu, left sheet of a triptych - Van Gogh Museum". vangoghmuseum-prod.azurewebsites.net. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  10. ^ "Woodblock Print, Pentaptych: Five girls with theater puppets, 1805–20". Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  11. ^ "Three Kabuki Actors Playing Hanetsuki". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-02-15.

Works cited

  • Marks, Andreas (2012). Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks: 1680–1900. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-0599-7.

External links

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