Antique Japanese Woodblock Print by Kunisada -Reclining Lady Bijin-ga- c.1850s
Presented is a beautiful Japanese full oban-size woodblock print created by the renowned artist of the late Edo period, Utagawa Kunisada (1786 - 1864), also known as Kunisada I and Toyokuni III. He was one of the most prominent artists and printmakers during the late Edo era (1600-1864) and the most productive of all ukiyo-e artists - he had created about 20,000 images, each of them printed in several hundred prints.
The print presented shows a beautifully dressed lady reclining on a floor pillow. Her outfit is rich and extravagant, and her headdress is luxurious and elegant. This is the so-called "bijin-ga" genre within the ukiyo-e woodblock tradition.
Kunisada’s pictures reflect Japan's culture in the years leading up to the country’s opening to the West. n his numerous bijinga, he clung to the ideal of beauty prevalent at the time. Most of the women portrayed were courtesans from Yoshiwara, the city's regulated red-light district.
Many museums in the world have Kunisada works:
British Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Tokyo National Museum
Museum of Fine Arts in Houston
Honolulu Museum of Art
and many others
Copies of this particular print are held in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and the Waseda University Museum in Tokyo.
The print was made using the Japanese woodblock technique during Kunisada's lifetime. Signed with artist's signature "Kunisada ga". Stamped with the publisher's seal of Izumiya Ichibei, used from the 1830s to the 1850s
AUTHOR: Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
TITLE: Reclining Lady (descriptive)
PUBLISHER: Izumiya Ichibei
CREATED: c.1850s
PAPER: washi paper
METHOD OF PRINTING: Woodblock printing
PRINTED: Lifetime printing circa 1850s
OVERALL SIZE: Full oban size 14" X 9"
The condition is very good. Good detail and colors, some toning and staining of the paper. Minor wormholes repaired in the back. Margins are trimmed. Please see the pictures for details on the condition.
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