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Kunichika ToyoharaKabuki Actor Diptych, Late 19th Century Figural Japanese Woodblock Prints (Pair)1870s
1870s
About the Item
Beautiful late 19th century Japanese woodblock print diptych of two kabuki actors by Kunichika Toyohara (Japanese, 1835-1900). This pair of prints is united by a continuous landscape, and the gaze of the figures as they look at one another.
Presented in cream mats, with black and red frames and plexiglass. Each frame measures 21.63"H x 17"W; Image size ~14.5"H x 10.5"W
The artist who became known as Toyohara Kunichika was born Ōshima Yasohachi on June 30, 1835, in the Kyōbashi district, a merchant and artisan area of Edo. It is believed that around age twelve Yasohachi began to study with Toyohara (Ichiōsai) Chikanobu (not to be confused with Kunichika’s student Toyohara Chikanobu). At the same time he designed actor portraits for battledores sold by a shop called Meirindo. His teacher gave him the name "Kazunobu". It may have been on the recommendation of Chikanobu that the boy was accepted the following year as an apprentice in the studio of Utagawa Kunisada, the leading and most prolific print maker of the mid-19th century. By 1854 the young artist had made his first confirmed signed print and had taken the name "Kunichika", a composite of the names of this two teachers, Kunisada and Chikanobu. His early work was derivative of the Utagawa style and some of his prints were outright copies (an accepted practice of the time). Kunichika's status continued to rise and he was commissioned to create several portraits of his teacher. When Kunisada died in 1865, his student was commissioned to design two memorial portraits. Kunichika died at his home in Honjo (an eastern suburb of Edo) on July 1, 1900 at the age of 65, due to a combination of poor health and bouts of heavy drinking brought on by the death at 39 of his daughter Hana while giving birth to his grandson, Yoshido Ito, some months previously. He was buried at the Shingon Buddhist sect temple of Honryuji in Imado, Asakusa.
- Creator:Kunichika Toyohara (1835 - 1900, Japanese)
- Creation Year:1870s
- Dimensions:Height: 21.63 in (54.95 cm)Width: 35 in (88.9 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Tonal ageing to paper, as expected for a piece of this age. Otherwise in very good condition. Minor scratches on plexiglass.
- Gallery Location:Soquel, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: JT-DBH6554A, JT-DBH6554B1stDibs: LU5428414832
Kunichika Toyohara
Kunichika Toyohara was born as Ōshima Yasohachi in 1835. Toyohara was one of the last Japanese Ukiyo-e painters. His first signed print is from 1852, but it was only in 1854 that he took the stage name Kunichika. Toyohara is best known for his prints of Kabuki actors, using the woodblock technique. He also painted beautiful women and for some special occasions, historical scenes. Toyohara was certainly a brilliant painter with unmistakable talent and dissipated life.
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