| Transcript |
- print. His short imprisonment may have caused his premature death in 1806 at the age of 53.
Utamaro�s sensitive portraits of sophisticated women epitomize the fashions and tastes of the Edo period. He had a powerful design sense and his lavishly engraved prints set a high standard of technical and artistic excel�lence. The finely detailed coiffures of Utamaro�s courtesans are truly exquisite. The half-length figure and full-head portrait are both among his more significant innovations, and it is said that he brought a new depth of sensuality to the portrayal of beautiful women. No one has ever matched him for talent and originality in this regard. After his death, one of Utamaro�s pupils married his widow and began issuing inferior prints under his master�s signature. He is known as Utamaro II (d. ca. 1831) [9].
One of Utamaro�s rivals was Toyokuni (1769- 1825) [10], who studied under Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814), the founder of the Utagawa school. Toyoharu studied Dutch engravings and produced wonderfully detailed perspective prints or uki-e. Toyokuni dealt with many themes but specialized in prints depicting scenes from the Kabuki. His tall, dignified well-proportioned figures sometimes express intense dramatic emotion. Toyokuni studied the work of other print artists and made good use of the current popular styles. He had numerous followers, including such notables as Toyokuni II, Toyokuni III (or Kunisada), Kuniyoshi, Kunimasa, and Kuninao among others. They will be discussed later.
Sharaku (active 1794-95) [12] was a contem�porary of Toyokuni and a former professional dancer in the Noh theatre. Sharaku became one of the world�s greatest portraitists and one of the most mysterious and controversial figures of the entire ukiyo-e tradition. There are no reliable biographical details of his life, but it appears that he only worked for ten months from mid-1794 to early 1795 and produced about 150 print designs before he abruptly disappeared just as mysteriously as he had arrived on the scene. Because the strangely contorted expressions of the actors in his prints suggest an attempt to ridicule the performers, he was unpopular with them and this may have had something to do with his disappearance. Although the fierce glares of his actor figures convey a feeling of intense
que des femmes ordinaires s�appliquant aux soins du m�nage quotidiens. Les personnages des estampes de Harunobu ont l�air tr�s innocents et enfantins. Il n�y a pas d�image d�sagr�able dans son oeuvre, uniquement de jolies femmes d�licates de toutes les couches sociales. Harunobu a eu trois imitateurs de marque: Kokan, Yoshinobyu et Masunobu. Il avait �galement une influence technique et esth�tique �norme sur les oeuvres de ses contemporains: Shunsho, Buncho, Koryusai et Shigemasa, qui, tous, ont fini plus tard par produire une importante quantit� d�oeuvres dans un style plus r�aliste et bien � eux.
Shunsho (1726-1793) �tait un des artistes les plus � la mode de l��poque. Sp�cialiste de l�estampe d�acteur et de l�estampe �rotique, il a pouss� le r�alisme ukiyo-e � un niveau sans pr�c�dent. Ses dessins remarquables avaient plus d��quilibre et plus de couleur brillante que ceux de Harunobu; ses estampes d�acteurs ont lanc� une nouvelle mode en permettant aux amateurs de th��tre de distinguer m�me le regard particulier et les mani�rismes de leurs acteurs favoris. Shunsho a eu plusieurs �l�ves, y compris Shunko (1743-1812) et Shunei (1762-1819) [20], mais son �l�ve le plus c�l�bre �tait Hokusai.
Buncho (actif 1765-1792) [5] �tait d�origine samourai et sp�cialiste de l�estampe d�acteur kabuki et de dames du Yoshiwara. Par dessus tout, ses personnages sont gracieux et, de par leurs poses, nettement excentriques. Les compositions de Buncho r�v�lent un cerne d�licat et fluide et un coloris brillant qui indique une sensibilit� distinctive � la couleur.
Koryusai (actif ann�es 1760-1780) [6] a �t� l��l�ve de Harunobu, dont l�influence est tout � fait �vidente dans ses combinaisons de couleurs. Koryusai �tait connu pour ses ravissantes estampes d�oiseaux et de fleurs, et pour ses estampes allong�es dites estampes- piliers (hashira-e), qui �taient con�ues pour l�affichage aux poutres verticales de la maison japonaise. Bien que Koryusai ait �t� un des premiers � qui la nature a fourni mati�re, il s�est surtout distingu� dans la repr�sentation de sujets �rotiques.
Les jolies femmes figurent dans l�oeuvre de Shigemasa (1739-1820), dont les estampes les plus c�l�bres pr�sentent des geisha en groupe. C��tait un grand ma�tre, et il avait un grand nombre de disciples. Il comptait parmi
|
|---|
