KUNISADA (1786–1865). A street musician
Artist:
Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865)
Subject:
A street samisen player with a large straw hat, two puppy dogs play in the background. These woman musicians were known as torioi sugata and their art belongs to the tradition of kadozuke-gei (arts at the gate) performing for the New Year celebrations and other annual festivals.
Description:
A calendar print, the numbers of the short or long months are shown on the samisen body.
Series:
Hyakunin bijo (One hundred beauties). A series of small size surimono style prints with some of them showing the calendrical signs.
Signature:
Unsigned like all the prints in this series with the exception of a surimono depicting a woman reading a letter of which a signed version is also known.
Date:
ca. 1825
Size:
Daisho surimono koban size, 19,4x12,6 cm
Medium:
Woodblock color print with use of metallic pigments.
Literature:
For a discussion of this series of surimono see Chris Uhlenbeck, Commercially produced surimono in The Poetic Image. The Fine Art of Surimono. Leiden 1987, p.17-19.
Remarks:
The design is almost identical to an ōban print by Kunisada from the series Thoughts reflected in a mirror (Omoigoto Kagami no sushi-e published around 1820 by Matsumura Tatsuemon. For a comparison see Robert Schaap. Kunisada imaging drama and beauty. Leiden 2016, p. 41, no. 3. It is therefore possible that other surimono in this series are inspired by large format prints
Conditions:
Fine impression with details printed with metallic pigments, fine colour and conditions.
Item no:
D 460
Price:
Euro 600
Status:
Available