Utagawa Toyokuni

Utagawa Toyokuni (Japanese歌 川 丰 国, reformed :歌 川 豊 国; * 1769 in Edo (now Tokyo), † February 25, 1825 ibid ), also Toyokuni I, was a master of Japanese prints, woodblock prints and painting in style of ukiyo -e. As a second head he coined decides the style of painting of the Utagawa school, their relatives in the late Edo and throughout the Meiji era the production of Japanese woodblock prints dominated.

Life

Toyokuni was born in 1769 in the district of Shiba the city of Edo, the son of dollmaker Kurohashi Gorobei. His nicknames were Kumakichi and later Kumaemon. It is known that he has moved twice within the neighborhood and has settled down in 1808 in the district of Nihonbashi in Edo. He had an only daughter, Okin, which contrary to popular opinion not with the later head of the Utagawa school, Toyoshige ( 1825 Toyokuni II ), was married, but in 1826 married a certain Watanabe Ihei. A few months before his death, adopted the Toyokuni only seven years younger Toyoshige, the beginning of 1825 some printing with " Toyokuni ga sui Toyoshige " (Eng. " drawn by Toyoshige, the son of Toyokuni " ) signed. In 1804 he was convicted of violating censorship regulations, the naming of real name and the real figure family coat of arms on some of his prints, to 50 days of house arrest in hand cuffs. As can be seen a subscribed by Kunisada memory image, he died after a Japanese account at the age of 57 years on the 7th day of the 1st month of the year Bunsei 8 ( according to the Western calendar on February 25, 1825).

Work

Toyokuni learned painting and drawing at Utagawa Toyoharu, the founder of the Utagawa school. His first known work are the illustrations for a book published in 1786, " Ahōha designated mate " (engl. "The Sleeping and waiting fool "). His first actor print appeared in 1789, after which he designed some perspective scenery prints in the style of his teacher Toyoharu. The first prints of figure depictions of beautiful women ( bijin -ga ) were based on Torii Kiyonaga, heads of women, however, are strongly reminiscent of Kitagawa Utamaro. Prints from the 1790s are still top lines and brittle, until several years later developed Toyokuni in this field its own style and in his later printing, subscribed by him, women are vivid and lifelike.

Above all, Toyokuni drew the designs for actor portraits and scenes from kabuki plays. His fame in this field established by Izumiya Ichibei published in the years 1794-96 series " Yakusha butai no sugata -e " (Eng. " Real-life pictures of actors on the stage "). It includes more than 50 prints that are most single-sheet prints, as well as diptychs and triptychs are included. Toyokuni used for this series in contrast to the Utagawa school, the wider Oban format, which allowed more design options. Even he was still at the beginning of the 19th century some actresses pictures in hosoban format, but at the latest from 1810 Oban was the format used alone. The novel, vivid sense of realism in his pictures hit the public taste of the time.

Just as the shares subscribed by Toyokuni head and double half-length portraits of the prints of the series emphasized the individual characteristics of the actors and let them appear lifelike. This " closeness to life " drew from his and the prints of his successors, so that the artists of the Utagawa school, which had previously dominated the market the actor and kabuki prints, finally received no more orders around 1800 by the publishers.

Arrested Toyokuni has its draw method in a manual published in 1817 entitled " Yakusha nigao haya geiko " (Eng. " Quick Guide [ to draw ] lifelike actor "). His method and its success laid the foundation for the subsequent monopoly of the Utagawa school in the representation of actors and kabuki scenes in the last decades of the Edo period.

In addition to some warrior images ( musha -e) Toyokuni also drew designs for the coverings of uchiwa, mostly with bijin -ga or actor portraits. Slightly more than 30 painted of him hanging scrolls, mostly images of beautiful women, are obtained. His oeuvre includes around 3,000 prints and he illustrated over 400 book titles. His works are almost all only with " Toyokuni ga " (Eng. " drawn by Toyokuni " ) or " Toyokuni hitsu " signed (Eng. " painted by Toyokuni " ), he only occasionally used in addition the nickname Ichiyōsai.

Toyokuni was active until shortly before his death as a designer of woodcuts, the last with his name signed prints were published in 1825. Some prints, which appeared posthumously, by the word "ko " (Eng. " the deceased " ) are signed.

Among his many students are the most famous Kunimasa, Toyokuni, Kuniyoshi and Kunisada.