. Chats on Japanese prints. vulgar herd,the actors, lose their significance; for here pass ingorgeous procession a series of lofty, intense, andunforgettable figures charged withthe quintessence of heroic force. The designer of these prints wasborn in 1726 and died about 1792—some authorities say 1790. Hisperiod of greatest activity coveredthe years 1765 to 1780, thus in-cluding the working periods ofboth Harunobu and Koriusai, andending as Koriusais did when inthe eighties Kiyonagas star roseblindingly. He lived for a whileat the house of his publisher,Hayashi; sometimes in his earlywork he u
. Chats on Japanese prints. vulgar herd,the actors, lose their significance; for here pass ingorgeous procession a series of lofty, intense, andunforgettable figures charged withthe quintessence of heroic force. The designer of these prints wasborn in 1726 and died about 1792—some authorities say 1790. Hisperiod of greatest activity coveredthe years 1765 to 1780, thus in-cluding the working periods ofboth Harunobu and Koriusai, andending as Koriusais did when inthe eighties Kiyonagas star roseblindingly. He lived for a whileat the house of his publisher,Hayashi; sometimes in his earlywork he used in place of a signa-ture a seal shaped like a smallcovered jar with handles, on which Hayashis nameis inscribed. The legend is that he was too poorto own a seal in the early days of his struggle andso borrowed that of his landlord! Shunsho had no antecedent teachers among theprint-designers. He sprang instead from a schoolof painters who did not design for prints These,headed by Choshun and his son Katsukawa Shunsui,. KATSUKAWASHUNSHO. 178 CHATS ON JAPANESE PRINTS had since 1700 been producing rich paintings ofwomen in elaborate drapery. The BuckinghamCollection contains one print by Shunsui, but it isan almost unique rarity, Shunsho, by a curiousshift in the stream of art history, not only took upprints, but even took up the department of printsleast in line with the tendencies of his own school,the department of actor-representation, which wasthe speciality of Kiyomitsu and the old ToriiSchool, and which Harunobus popular innovationshad almost driven out of fashion. To this workShunsho brought the new technique of Harunobuand great native individuality; and with the fresharmament of full colour he defended magnificentlythe threatened stronghold of actor-prints. His popu-larity became enormous. He grew quickly to thestature of one of the great and far-reaching powersin Ukioye history. Side by side with Harunobu, hein his separate field executed year by year actor-portrai
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidcu3192402333, bookyear1915
