Artist: Okumura Masanobu
Title: Onoe Kikugorö I as Soga Gorö Dressed as a Komusö
Date: 1744
Details: More information...
Source:
Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description:
Okumura Masanobu, one of the early ukiyo-e masters, was a founder of the Okumura School, which was the second largest school of ukiyo-e after the Torii School, and specialized in Kabuki actor prints in the early to mid-18th century. Masanobu was also a publisher of his own (and his apprentice's) prints, allowing him considerable control over his designs. He was an innovative designer who attempted a number of new styles. One remarkable feature of his work was the use of Western single-point perspective. Masanobu produced many pictures of beautiful women (bijinga), and designed actor prints in the pillar print format (hashira-e), as seen in this work. Unlike the powerful and rough style of actors depicted by the Torii School, Masanobu's actors are usually rendered with softer, fluid brush strokes reminiscent of his bijinga. (Feb 2011) ALT TEXT Masanobu was known for his experimentation. He invented "pillar pictures" (hashira-e ) and "perspective prints" (uki-e) based on his studies of Western style perspective. This print is a good example of a "pillar picture". In his book Japanese Prints, Michener had the following to say about Masanobu: "My favorite ukiyo-e artist is Masanobu... important because he arrived on the scene when ukiyo-e was in danger of petrification....this print is one of the most distinguished in my collection insofar as history is concerned. It occurs in four distinctive versions. The one shown here was made from the original block after the wood had been neatly cut off. The other different versions can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago and also at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The present copy, which has been widely reproduced, is the best extant among those versions and is well known for that reason." 2003
