Japanese woodblock print in colour depicting samisen (stringed instrument) player

Ca. 1861, number twelve of the series "36 Beautiful Women of Yoshiwara." 374 x 244 mm. Slightly worn, one edge irregularly trimmed ever so slightly, but overall fine.

Kunisada was the most prolific of all the Ukiyo-e artists. He studied under Utagawa Toyokuni (from which he adopted the "kuni" name) and excelled primarily as a designer of kabuki actor prints and portraits of women. He also designed a large number of shunga (erotica pictures) in book format. He was a noted poet and a member of a prestigious literary circle that included popular writers Shikitei Sanba and Santo Kyoden.
Kunisada supplanted his master's adopted son and son-in-law Toyokuni II in 1844 and due to this succession, he is widely referred to as Toyokuni III. (5246)

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Art/Sculpture

Culture, Ethnicity & Gender

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