"Hanaôgi of the Ôgiya, kamuro Yoshino and Tatsuta" from a series of courtesans printed in blue
Fine Arts The Japanese Prints: Ancient and Modern
Item Info
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
"Kunisada was the leading print artist of the late Edo period, heading the Utagawa school for almost forty years. Without doubt he was the most prolific and successful print artist of all time. ... Presumably in 1801, at the age of 15 or 16, Kunisada became a student of Toyokuni, who bestowed upon him an artist name, following the tradition starting with the second character of Toyokuni's name, 'kuni'. ... Kunisada's career jump started with book illustrations."
from "Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks, 168-1900 by Andreas Marks, Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, 2010. page 120
https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/2030739
Notes:
"The existence and popularity for woodblock prints produced only or mainly in shades of blue has to do with a German invention, Prussian blue. This is a synthetic color pigment invented by the German Johann Konrad Dippel (1673-1734) in 1704, and later produced by a company in Berlin, Germany, since the early 18th century.
This synthetic color allowed a stronger, more vibrant blue and was less prone to fading. And it allowed also a wider range of tones of blue, from light to dark. Before, the color blue was only available as a rather dark indigo blue from the natural pigments of the day flower petals. Synthetic colors in general have the advantage of not fading out at all or not so easily compared to natural pigments produced from plants or minerals."
from https://www.artelino.com/articles/aizuri-e.asp
Notes:
note card with print
Utagawa Kunisada, 1786-1864
Beauty, Hanaogi of the Ogiya
This aizuri-e print (blue printed picture), depicting a senior courtesan (Oiran) and her two attendants (kamuro), dates from around 1830. Oiran were the highest-ranking courtesans in the government-regulated red light district, the Yoshiwara, during the Edo period (1600-1868). They would take a daily stroll around dusk on the main thoroughfare of the quarter, accompanied by two young girl attendants. Girls as young as five were sold to brothel keepers as a way to resuce their families from poverty. During their training, they were used to wait upon the Oiran.
Bibliography:
http://www.japaneseprints-london.com/5910/why-were-prints-produced-in-just-blue/
https://www.loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=2ea96b5ec90e4378a363c01d10131192&bookmark=Colorants
Creation Year: ca. 1830
Image Dimensions Width: 37.7 cm
Creator Name: Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1786 - 1864 - Artist
Enomotoya Kichibei - Publisher