Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) does not have an image.
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Japanese Utagawa
Japanese, (1786–1865)
Kunisada, also known as Toyokuni III, was born in the Honjo district of Edo as Kunisada Tsunoda. Kunisada’s family owned a small hereditary ferryboat service. Though his father, an amateur poet, died when Kunisada was a child, the family business provided some financial security. During his childhood, he showed considerable promise in painting and drawing. Due to strong familial ties with literary and theatrical circles, he spent time studying actor portraits.
At age 14, he was admitted to study under Toyokuni, head of the Utagawa school. Kunisada’s work embodies the characteristics of the Utagawa school, focusing on traditional subjects such as kabuki, bijin (beautiful women), shunga (erotic prints), and historical prints. His first known print dates to 1807, his first illustrated book to 1808. Kunisada’s career took off from the beginning. Many of his works became overnight successes and he was considered the “star attraction” of the Utagawa school. He signed his works “Kunisada,” sometimes with the studio names of Gototei and Kochoro affixed. In 1844, he adopted the name of his teacher and became Toyokuni III. Kunisada passed away in 1864 in the same neighborhood that he was born. He was 70 years old. Kunisada was a highly popular, and the most active, Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the 19th century. In his time, his reputation surpassed those of his contemporaries Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
The Utagawa school of Japanese painters, woodblock print designers and book illustrators are known for their work in the ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) genre. The school was founded by Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814), who moved from Kyoto to Edo (modern Tokyo), where he set up a woodblock print studio. The subject matter of ukiyo-e was the famous courtesans and leading kabuki actors of the Yoshiwara entertainment district in Edo. The Utagawa school was the most prolific in the field of printmaking, accounting for over half of Japan’s extant ukiyo-e prints. The lineage continued into the modern period in the work of artists such as Utagawa Yoshiiku.
Japanese Utagawa
Japanese, (1786–1865)
Kunisada, also known as Toyokuni III, was born in the Honjo district of Edo as Kunisada Tsunoda. Kunisada’s family owned a small hereditary ferryboat service. Though his father, an amateur poet, died when Kunisada was a child, the family business provided some financial security. During his childhood, he showed considerable promise in painting and drawing. Due to strong familial ties with literary and theatrical circles, he spent time studying actor portraits.
At age 14, he was admitted to study under Toyokuni, head of the Utagawa school. Kunisada’s work embodies the characteristics of the Utagawa school, focusing on traditional subjects such as kabuki, bijin (beautiful women), shunga (erotic prints), and historical prints. His first known print dates to 1807, his first illustrated book to 1808. Kunisada’s career took off from the beginning. Many of his works became overnight successes and he was considered the “star attraction” of the Utagawa school. He signed his works “Kunisada,” sometimes with the studio names of Gototei and Kochoro affixed. In 1844, he adopted the name of his teacher and became Toyokuni III. Kunisada passed away in 1864 in the same neighborhood that he was born. He was 70 years old. Kunisada was a highly popular, and the most active, Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the 19th century. In his time, his reputation surpassed those of his contemporaries Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
The Utagawa school of Japanese painters, woodblock print designers and book illustrators are known for their work in the ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) genre. The school was founded by Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814), who moved from Kyoto to Edo (modern Tokyo), where he set up a woodblock print studio. The subject matter of ukiyo-e was the famous courtesans and leading kabuki actors of the Yoshiwara entertainment district in Edo. The Utagawa school was the most prolific in the field of printmaking, accounting for over half of Japan’s extant ukiyo-e prints. The lineage continued into the modern period in the work of artists such as Utagawa Yoshiiku.
Artist Objects
Kabuki Actor 2003.026
Untitled (geisha triptych) 1988.001