Katsukawa ShunshÅ
Utagawa Shunshō (Japanese胜 川 春 章; * 1726 [ Note 1 ]; † January 19, 1793 in Edo (now Tokyo) ) was a Japanese woodcut artist, painter in the style of ukiyo -e and founder of the Utagawa school.
Life
The established facts about Shunshō are sparse. Known is his real nickname Yosuke, since 1774 Yusuke. He was a student of Miyagawa Shunsui, from which he has taken over the later name Katsugawa, [note 2] and students of originating from the Hanabusa School Kō Sūkoku. Mentions the 1790 Compiled by Ōta Nampo Ukiyo -e ruiko (Eng. thoughts about Ukiyo -e), that he bore the name Katsumiyagawa for a while and at first did not own stage name. Instead, he would have used the name of Hayashiya Shichiemon, in whose house in Ningyo- chō, a district of Edo, he lived at that time. For this indication Shunsho speaks signature on his early work, which consisted of a seal in the form of a pot, with its center at the kanji林( Onyomi rin or Kunyomi hayashi, German grove ) was located.
Some evidence suggests that Shunshō comes from a samurai family: for example, his acquaintance with Ippitsusai Bunchō (1755-1790), of which this is also accepted; the fact that he was a teacher of drawing of the high-ranking samurai Koikawa Harumachi I. with great certainty, and its designation as Zatsugakusha (雑 学者, dt " man of great learning " ) in a book Morishima Chūryōs. That Shunshō also worked as a haiku poet, has been proven by a 1774 published in an anthology of poetry. The fact that he wrote in the 1780s Kyoka Poems, is likely, however, is considered not secure. From the obtained grave stone on the site of the Matsudaira Saifuku -ji in Asakusa and the burial records also obtained the exact date of death is known Shunchōs and the fact that he lived before his death in Tadakoro -chō district in Edo.
Work
1764 appeared the first drawn Shunshō pressure with the appearance of a Kabuki actor in the narrow Hosoban format. [Note 3] At the same time Ippitsusai Bunchō he began to draw a new type of actor portraits. In contrast to the previous printing of the members of the Torii school, the actor of his Yakusha -e were observed ( portraits of actors and scenes from the Kabuki theater ) to individual facial features. The prints looked alive, especially since he was able to capture the personal character of the actor. Most significant for him was his ability to play the actors to life; by his contemporaries, none could come close to him in this respect. His mastery as a portraitist awarded him before all the previous artists of the Japanese woodblock print. Significantly, the new style of portraiture was particularly in the 1770 along with Ippitsusai Bunchō drawn book Ehon Butai Ogi (絵 本 舞台 扇, German Illustrated Book of stages subjects). In it you will find the pictures of all at that time popular in Edo actor of the Kabuki theater, presented with an upper body portrait on the background of a Japanese Faltfächers (扇, OGI ). The same display format selected Shunshō a few years later for his acting series Azuma Ogi (东 扇, German subjects from the East), Oban format [note 3] appeared. In the field of e - Yakusha Shunsho work is a milestone in the development of the Japanese woodblock print.
As an innovator himself Shunshō proved also in the presentation of the poet anthology Hyakunin Isshu (錦 百人一首 あつま 織, Nishiki Hyakunin Isshu Azumaori, dt real representation of a hundred poets of the hundred poems in brocade pictures, 1774). To date, the poet had been presented in a consistent and conventional and hardly differed in their facial features. Shunshō broke with this tradition and gave the poets individual phenomena that made them appear as personalities.
His influence on the development of Bijinga ( depictions of beautiful women ) was also significant. The late -1760s drew Shunshō some designs for Bijinga that (深 川 八景, Fukagawa Hakkei, dt Eight Views of Fukagawa ), which were strongly influenced by Suzuki Harunobu image concept and character style, but overall these prints were rather stiff and lifeless. His first success in the field of Bijinga he had at the beginning of the 1770s with the series The Tales of Ise (伊 势 物语, Ise Monogatari ). The series of 48 leaves were distinguished by the use of classical themes, reminiscent of Chinese models, already greatly from Harunobu style. In 1772, he designed with Kitao Shigemasa the series silk prey breeding (蚕 养 草, Kaiko Yashinai Gusa ), the Bijin at work show a rather unusual presentation for that time. Shigemasa and Shunshō translated in 1776 to cooperate with the illustrated book comparing the beauties of, Green Houses': A mirror of its forms (青楼 美人 合 姿 镜, Seiró Bijin Awase Sugata Kagami ) away. In it, the women of the Yoshiwara brothel district are displayed in their private life together with other women. The women appeared in the current kimono, wore the latest hairstyles and gave themselves completely natural. Quick found for this type of representation, which was enthusiastically received by the audience, many followers such as Kitao Masanobu and Isoda Koryūsai.
1782 Shunshō began with the creation of designs for pictures of sumo wrestlers, and the representation of famous sumo - wrestling. The nature of his presentation of the subject remained the trend for the Japanese woodblock print by the end of the 1820s. Likewise, the representation of the Musha -e ( pictures of historical scenes and famous heroes ), the Shunshō has repeatedly drawn in the course of his work, and its design has been renewed until 40 years after his death by the style of the Utagawa school.
In the course of his ministry Shunshō drew designs for a few hundred actresses prints, which originated mostly as single prints; However, there are also multi-blade print diptych from up to Pentaptychon. His prints he designed for 18 different publishers. The actor prints are produced mainly in Hosoban format Bijiin prints are mostly in Chuban format, a few leaves have the larger oban format ( including actors, Musha -e, sumo -e and a few landscape prints) and individual Bijinga and Musha -e are as " post image " ( Hashira -e ) configuration. [note 3]
He illustrated alone or together with other artists around the 50 books. In addition still at the 20 Shunga, of which the Ehon haikai Yobokodori (絵 本 拝 开 夜 妇 子 取, dt haikai book of the cuckoo, 1788) is considered one of the best of his time.
A little more than a hundred paintings by him are known, the earliest of which is dated to the end of the 1770s, most of his last years. The last two years of his life he was apparently active only as a painter. Shunsho paintings depict mostly Bijin, usually several together, busy with activities of daily living, playing or the extensions connected to the seasons festivities.
The three hanging pictures Setsugekka (雪 月 花), which in the MOA Museum of Art [NB 4] are kept, are classified as Important Cultural Property of Japan.
Students and signatures
Shunshō had numerous students, including Utagawa Shunchō, Utagawa Shun'ei and Katsushika Hokusai, who had learned as Utagawa Shunro at Shunshō the craft of drawing and painting of ukiyo-e designs, but broke away after his death by the school and its own painting and drawing tradition founded. To list the student see also: Utagawa school.
Shunsho bourgeois nickname was Yosuke, since 1774 Yusuke. As an artist name ( Gō ) he used next Shunshō nor the names Jūgasei, Kyokurōsei, Ririn, Rokurokuan, Yuji. Early works are marked with a seal in cup shape and the kanji林( hayashi or rin, German grove ).