THE ARTIST – KIYONAGA

Known as Torii Kiyonaga, some of the greatest Bijinga prints created during the latter part of the 19^th century were done by this Japanese Ukiyo-e printmaker and painter. He began his career in the world of art in 1752, continuing until 1815. Having attended the Torii School, his name had been changed from Sekiguchi Shinsuke. His father was a bookseller in Edo.

Torii Kiyonaga was so well regarded by his master Torii that after the master’s death, he took over the school. Soon, he became recognized as one of the greatest masters of Nishiki-e, which is full-color print, as well as Bijinga, which are images of beautiful women. In addition, Torii Kiyonaga also focused some of his work on Kabuki actors and theatrical scenes, which were often used to help promote the theater and/or the show being performed.

One of Torii Kiyonaga’s legacies is that while he had a common upbringing, his paintings are exceptional and beautifully detailed. Many of the beautiful women shown in Torii Kiyonaga’s prints are seen are full and mature while his predecessor Harunobu, preferred to paint thin, young women. The bottom line is that both men had different tastes. However, it is also believed that since larger sheets of paper where used, it allowed better depiction.

Over time, another artist appeared on the scene by the name of Utamaro. He too painted woodblock prints of beautiful women but even fuller and more mature than what you saw from Torii Kiyonaga. While the paintings of women were gorgeous, the Kabuki scenes were somewhat on the plain side but still high in demand. Keep in mind that during this time, many of the other Japanese artists began painting actors but Torii Kiyonaga chose to stick with scenes and beautiful women.

By the late 18^th century, Kiyonaga’s work had matured. At this time, he created a number of masterpieces, again featuring full, mature, and beautiful women, along with theatrical scenes. While his work is of high artist quality, the fact that he was the first Asian artist to create perfect designs of full-length portraits shot him to success and fame.

THE ARTIST – KIYOHIRO TORII

If you were to look back to the earliest Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, you would see that only Sumi ink was used, which was black. This particular ink was created by mixing soot with water. Because of the ink, the woodblock prints were called Sumizuri-e. However, from 1704 to 1715 during the Kanei and Shotoku periods, mineral pigment was used to create two to three colors, which was then called Tan-e.

Over the next 15 years during the Kyoho period, vegetable pigment was used. This ink was created from using Beni, which is a type of safflower, giving the prints a slight look of transparency. The prints using vegetable pigment soon changed to Beni-e, which resulted in prints that were brushed by hand but simply beautiful. Read More...

THE ARTIST – KAWASE HASUI

This Japanese artist was not highly famous in Japan although he did make an impact in other countries. Ranked as one of the greatest of all woodblock print artists in Japan, his work is definitely unique and detailed. During the Shin Hanga movement, Kawase Hasui was one of the most talented and innovative masters. In fact, his work was so amazing that prior to his death, it was declared a “Living National Treasure”. Born as Bunjiro in Tokyo, his family were merchants. While many artists were focusing on Japanese styles, Kawase Hasui took interest in western styles. His first lesson pertaining to art was watercolor and oils, taught by Saburosuke Okada. As you can imagine, his family was not pleased with the direction his was taking, doing all they could to dissuade and even stop him. Determined to get Kawase Hasui to work in the family’s merchant business, a huge conflict arose, causing the company to fall into bankruptcy. Read More...