Eizan (1787 - 1867 )
A native of Edo, Eizan Kikukawa was born as Toshinobu Omiya in 1787. He began his artistic career studying with his father Eiji Kikukawa, a Kano painter and fan maker, before pursuing printmaking under Hokkei, a pupil of Hokusai. From the start of the 19th century to his retirement, Eizan was leading artist of Japanese bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) and shunga (erotic prints) woodblock prints. After 1830, he worked almost exclusively as a painter until his death in 1867.
Eizan admired and followed in the footsteps of Utamaro, despite the fact that he never trained with him. Working primarily in the genre of bijin-ga, Eizan captures beautiful women with sensibility and lyricism, imbuing them with an elegance and graceful classicality. Though the increased demand for ukiyo-e during the early 19th century caused some artists to rush their designs, Eizan Kikukawa resisted this pressure, maintaining impeccable design skills throughout his career.
Ukiyo-e | Japanese Woodblock Prints | Ronin Gallery
Explore the largest collection of 17th-19th century original Japanese woodblock prints in the United States at Ronin Gallery. Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” captured the exciting urban popular culture of the Edo period (1603-1868), promoting its beauty, fashions and heroes. While the Buddhist term ukiyo originally emphasized the transitory nature of human life, during the 17th century the term gradually shifted its reference to the ephemeral world of pleasure and indulgence. From 17th century Buddhist woodcuts through 19th century Japanese ukiyo-e print masters, enter a vibrant world of enchanting landscapes and sublime nature studies by Hokusai and Hiroshige, dramatic kabuki actors by Sharaku and Toyokuni, fierce samurai by Kuniyoshi, and elegant beauties by Utamaro. With the ravages of time, war and fire, today few of these precious original Japanese woodblock prints survive outside of museums and important private collections.
21 Products
Eizan
Chrysanthemum: Beautiful Woman with Shamisen
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Eizan
Abandonment After Sake, Woman of Mercantile House
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