Utagawa Toyokuni. Utagawa Toyokuni, also often referred to as Toyokuni I, to distinguish him from the members of his school who took over his go after he died, was a great master of ukiyo-e, known in particular for his kabuki actor prints.
He was the second head of the renowned Utagawa school of Japanese woodblock artists, and was the artist who really moved it to the position of great fame and power it occupied for the rest of the nineteenth century. He was born in Edo, the son of Kurahashi Gorobei, a carver of dolls and puppets, including replicas of kabuki actors.
At around 14, Toyokuni was apprenticed to the first head of the Utagawa house, Utagawa Toyoharu, whom his father knew well and who lived nearby. One of his fellow pupils under Toyoharu was Toyohiro, whose pupil was the great landscape artist Hiroshige.
In recognition of his artistic ability, Toyokuni later took the name Utagawa Toyokuni, following the common practice of using one syllable of his master's name. Toyokuni seems not to have been an intuitive genius determined to forge a new path; rather, he seems to have studied intently those who came before him, particularly Utamaro, Chobunsai Eishi and Eishosai Choki.
and through a great deal of hard work produced first a mastery, and then a synthesis of their styles, to create a style of his own. He was known mostly for his prints related to the kabuki theatre, in particular his yak
He was the second head of the renowned Utagawa school of Japanese woodblock artists, and was the artist who really moved it to the position of great fame and power it occupied for the rest of the nineteenth century. He was born in Edo, the son of Kurahashi Gorobei, a carver of dolls and puppets, including replicas of kabuki actors.
At around 14, Toyokuni was apprenticed to the first head of the Utagawa house, Utagawa Toyoharu, whom his father knew well and who lived nearby. One of his fellow pupils under Toyoharu was Toyohiro, whose pupil was the great landscape artist Hiroshige.
In recognition of his artistic ability, Toyokuni later took the name Utagawa Toyokuni, following the common practice of using one syllable of his master's name. Toyokuni seems not to have been an intuitive genius determined to forge a new path; rather, he seems to have studied intently those who came before him, particularly Utamaro, Chobunsai Eishi and Eishosai Choki.
and through a great deal of hard work produced first a mastery, and then a synthesis of their styles, to create a style of his own. He was known mostly for his prints related to the kabuki theatre, in particular his yak
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