Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Dressing Room 53 Stations of Tokaido - Woodblock Utagawa Hiroshige and Kunisada

1854

About the Item

Dressing Room 53 Stations of Tokaido - Woodblock Utagawa Hiroshige and Kunisada Elegant woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige I (Japanese, 1797–1858) and Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786–1864). In this series, the landscapes are by Hiroshige and the figures are by Kunisada I (Toyokuni III). Published by Maruya Kyûshirô. A lady of the court is getting her hair brushed by another woman while reading from a book. In the background, there is an expansive seascape with several boats of various sizes. Signatures along the left edge. Presented in a gold colored frame with a blue mat. Frame size: 18.75"H x 15"Wx.75"D Image size: 13.13"H x 9.63"W Utagawa Hiroshige was born in 1797 in the Yayosu Quay section of the Yaesu area in Edo (modern Tokyo).[3] He was of a samurai background, and was the great-grandson of Tanaka Tokuemon, who held a position of power under the Tsugaru clan in the northern province of Mutsu. Not long after his parents' deaths, perhaps at around fourteen, Hiroshige—then named Tokutarō— began painting. He sought the tutelage of Toyokuni of the Utagawa school, but Toyokuni had too many pupils to make room for him. A librarian introduced him instead to Toyohiro of the same school. By 1812 Hiroshige was permitted to sign his works, which he did under the art name Hiroshige. He also studied the techniques of the well-established Kanō school, the nanga whose tradition began with the Chinese Southern School, and the realistic Shijō school, and likely the linear perspective techniques of Western art and uki-e. Hiroshige's apprentice work included book illustrations and single-sheet ukiyo-e prints of female beauties and kabuki actors in the Utagawa style. It was not until 1829–1830 that Hiroshige began to produce the landscapes he has come to be known for, such as the Eight Views of Ōmi series. He also created an increasing number of bird and flower prints about this time. About 1831, his Ten Famous Places in the Eastern Capital appeared, and seem to bear the influence of Hokusai, whose popular landscape series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji had recently seen publication. An invitation to join an official procession to Kyoto in 1832 gave Hiroshige the opportunity to travel along the Tōkaidō route that linked the two capitals. He sketched the scenery along the way, and when he returned to Edo he produced the series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, which contains some of his best-known prints. Hiroshige built on the series' success by following it with others, such as the Illustrated Places of Naniwa (1834), Famous Places of Kyoto (1835), another Eight Views of Ōmi (1834). During his lifetime Kunisada Utagawa was considered to be the best print designer by his contemporaries. He was more popular than Hiroshige, Hokusai or Kuniyoshi. And Kunisada was extremely productive. His total output is estimated at more than 20,000 designs, many made by his students. Kunisada was born near Edo (today Tokyo) as the son of an affluent merchant with a ferry boat license. At the age of fifteen he joined the famous art school of Utagawa Toyokuni and took the name Kunisada. In 1807 the young artist produced his first illustrated book. And in 1808 his first actor prints were published. His fame grew fast. While other artists like Kuniyoshi Utagawa or Hiroshige had to fight for recognition for years, he was successful from the beginning. He went on to become the most commercially successful of all woodblock printmakers ever. His early success may not have had a good influence on his personality. He had a reputation for his conceited personality. Kunisada designed a wide spectrum of traditional ukiyo-e subjects like kabuki themes, beautiful women, historical events and quite a few shunga prints. He made few landscapes. --
  • Creator:
    Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (1786-1864, Japanese)
  • Creation Year:
    1854
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18.75 in (47.63 cm)Width: 15 in (38.1 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Tonal ageing to paper. Wrinkles and tears in upper portion of paper - stabilized as long as the item is not removed from mat and frame.
  • Gallery Location:
    Soquel, CA
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: DBH86891stDibs: LU54212659852

More From This Seller

View All
Scribe and Personal Assistant to the Shogun - Japanese Woodblock Print on Paper
Located in Soquel, CA
Scribe and Personal Assistant to the Shogun - Japanese Woodblock Print on Paper Detailed woodblock print by an unknown artist, In the style of Suzuki Harunobu. There are two women i...
Category

19th Century Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Ink, Woodcut

Deutzia Flowers: The Wife of Kasamori - Original Woodblock Print
Located in Soquel, CA
Deutzia Flowers: The Wife of Kasamori - Original Woodblock Print Deutzia Flowers: The Wife of Kasamori, from the Series "Beauties of the Floating World Associated with Flowers" by S...
Category

1760s Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut, Ink, Rice Paper

Elegant Amusements of Eastern Genji - Japanese Triptych Woodblock Print on Paper
By Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Located in Soquel, CA
Elegant Amusements of Eastern Genji - Japanese Triptych Woodblock Print on Paper Dynamic woodblock print with several elegantly dressed figures by Utag...
Category

1850s Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Ink, Woodcut

The Four Seasons: Spring Japanese Woodblock Triptych ink on Paper Tales of Genji
Located in Soquel, CA
The Four Seasons: Spring - Japanese Woodblock Triptych in Ink on Paper Colorful kabuki scene by Utagawa Kuniteru (Japanese, active 1818-18...
Category

Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Ink, Woodcut

Beauties Mirrored in the Forms of Flowers - Utagawa Kuniyoshi Japanese Woodblock
By Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Located in Soquel, CA
Beauties Mirrored in the Forms of Flowers - Utagawa Kuniyoshi Japanese Woodblock A Japanese beauty dressed and posed resembling flowers by Utagawa Kumiyoshi (Japan, 1797 - 1861 ). A...
Category

Mid-19th Century Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Ink, Woodcut

"Toy Horse Dance" Japanese Woodblock Triptych with Beauties and Mt Fuji
Located in Soquel, CA
"Toy Horse Dance" Japanese Woodblock Triptych with Beauties and Mt Fuji Vibrant three-panel woodblock print by Utagawa Toyohiro (Japanese,...
Category

Early 20th Century Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut, Rice Paper, Ink

You May Also Like

Dyeing Paper
Located in Middletown, NY
Japan: circa 1770. Woodcut on cream laid paper, 7 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches (182 x 63 mm), narrow margins. Laid down to non-archival board with scattered soiling and some adhesive staining...
Category

Late 18th Century Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Woodcut, Laid Paper

Two Women Playing Sugoroku from "Comparison of the Customs of Beauties."
Located in Middletown, NY
A scene from a vanishing Japan. Two Women Playing Sugoroku from "Comparison of the Customs of Beauties."; The Customs and Manners of Women Japan: Matsuki Heikichi, 1891. Woodblock ...
Category

Late 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper, Watercolor, Woodcut

The Lonely House at Asajigahara.
Located in Middletown, NY
A scene from a series of ghost stories and spooky rural legends. Tokyo: Matsuki Heikichi, 1896. Woodcut in ink with embossing and hand-coloring in watercolor on handmade mulberry pa...
Category

Late 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints

Materials

Watercolor, Woodcut, Handmade Paper

Dickie (Child in High Chair)
By Will Barnet
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original woodcut on japan paper created by master American artist Will Barnet in 1942.
Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut, Paper

Woodcut Print Mimi Grooms Signed Small Edition Happy Birthday Woodblock Print
By Mimi Gross
Located in Surfside, FL
Mimi Gross Grooms (American, born 1940) first print, black and white woodcut or woodblock print on paper "to... Happy Happy Birthday Lots of love and...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Tissue Paper, Woodcut

La Messe (The Mass), after Caravaggio
Located in Middletown, NY
Chiaroscuro woodcut with underlying engraving on cream laid paper, printed from two blocks in brown and olive. 10 1/4 x 12 3/4 inches (260 x 321 mm) (plate), full margins with the text printing clearly below in black ink. In very good condition with scattered surface soiling and several minor flecks of light discoloration in the margins, especially in the area of the lower right corner, well outside of image area. Unobtrusive notations in pencil in the margin and on the verso. All condition issues are consistent with age. After a drawing of the same title by Polidoro da Caravaggio...
Category

Mid-18th Century Old Masters Figurative Prints

Materials

Engraving, Laid Paper, Woodcut

Recently Viewed

View All