Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Prince Genji in Exile at Suma.
1853

Name: Prince Genji in Exile at Suma.
Brand: Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
Price: 3750 USD
Availability: InStock

About

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) and Gototei Kunisada (1786-1865). Prince Genji in Exile at Suma. Prince Genji in Exile at Suma. Kaei VI/4 (1853). Series: A Fashionable Genji. Oban triptych. Signature: Hiroshige ga, Toyokuni ga. Seals: Ichiryusai, date seals. Publisher: Iseya Kanekichi. Censor: Kinugasa Fusajiro, Murata Heiemon. Engraver: Yokogawa Takejiro. Housed in a 31 x 20-inch Whistler style gold leaf frame. A Fashionable Genji is one of the most successful joint efforts of Hiroshige and Kunisada (Toyokuni III). Kunisada was famous for his Genji series. Hiroshige was known for his landscapes. This series, that combines the specialties of both artists, was extremely popular. In this triptych, Genji is shown during his exile at Suma. He is dressed in fashionable contemporary costume, rather than in Heian-period attire. He looks at the departing boat that presumably brought him to the island. From 1829-42, the publisher Tsuruya Kiemon began issuing a serialized novel, Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji (A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki), which was illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), arguably the most popular and definitely the most prolific ukiyo-e artist of his time. The saga was a contemporary adaptation by the writer Ryutei Tanehiko (1783-1842) of the classic 10th-century novel Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji). Ryutei's version was set in the fifteenth century, and followed the general theme of the original epic novel, but was written in modern language and embellished with kabuki theatrics. The success of the Inaka Genji ('A Rustic Genji'), told in 38 chapters which were issued in 76 booklets, spurred on a rage in a new genre of woodblock prints: Genji-e (Genji pictures) featuring the star of the novel, Mitsuuji, in his various romantic escapades. Beginning in 1838, artists and publishers began producing Genji-e, with Kunisada leading the way, and reaching a peak in production by the 1850s. This triptych was produced at the height of the Genji craze. In the 1850s, Kunisada, the leading figural artist, and Utagawa Hiroshige, the leading landscape artist, began collaborating on a group of multi-paneled Genji-e with Mitsuuji and his beauties portrayed by Kunisada and placed within landscapes designed by Hiroshige.

Details

Artist
Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (1786-1864, Japanese)
Creation Year
1853
Medium
Woodcut

Movement & Style
Edo
Condition
Good
Period
Mid-19th Century

Dimensions
H 31 in. x W 20 in.H 78.74 cm x W 50.8 cm
Gallery Location
Storrs, CT
Reference Number
LU33523879242

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