Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Japanese, 1797–1861
Yu Kinrō, c. 1847
Color woodblock print
Gift of Louis W. Hill, Jr. P.75.51.71

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Saturday, October 31, 2009—Sunday, March 7, 2010
Gallery 239
Free Exhibition

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) is best known for his dramatic musha-e (pictures of warriors), but over the course of his career he depicted a wide range of subjects. His early prints of actors and beauties show the influence of his mentor, Utagawa Toyokuni (1769–1825). In the late 1820s, however, Kuniyoshi created a series picturing heroes of the 14th-century Chinese epic The Water Margin, which revealed his own distinctive style. The series received rave reviews for its skillful drawing and imaginative compositions and established Kuniyoshi as the top musha-e artist. Later in his career, he tried his hand at landscapes, narrative pictures, and caricatures, producing notable examples of each. The work of this versatile artist also reveals an interest in Western-style pictorial techniques (such as perspective and shading), a sense of humor, and clever wit.