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Portrait of Ippitsusai Bunchō

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Artist in the Global Art Registry

Ippitsusai Bunchō

1725–1794 · Japanese

Born
1725
Died
1794

59 works in the Collect24 Registry

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Ippitsusai Bunchō was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, best known for his yakusha-e actor prints in narrow hosoban dimensions. Bunchō and Katsukawa Shunshō are credited with having developed kabuki actor portraiture that focuses on producing likenesses of the subjects.

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Ippitsusai Bunchō (一筆斎文調, fl. 1755–1791) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, best known for his yakusha-e actor prints in narrow hosoban dimensions. Bunchō and Katsukawa Shunshō are credited with having developed kabuki actor portraiture focuses on producing likenesses of the subjects, rather than stereotyped faces. Little is known about Bunchō's life. His birth surname was Mori, and he is believed to have studied painting under Ishikawa Yukimoto of the Kanō school. The earliest known works attributed to Bunchō are the illustrations to Hachimonji Jishō II's Eiga asobi nidai otoko (1755). Between 1766 and 1774 he made a large number of actor prints in the narrow vertical hosoban dimensions. In 1770 he produced the three-volume Ehon butai ōgi (絵本舞台扇, "Picture-book of Stage Fans") with Katsukawa Shunshō, which depicts the leading kabuki actors of the day on ōgi hand fans; Bunchō handled the onnagata—male actors who portray female characters. It was popular and went through multiple printings. From 1769 he also made bijin-ga prints of female beauties that show the influence of Suzuki Harunobu. These became his major subject, and in the An'ei era (1772–81) no actor prints of his are known. Bunchō's last known work was an e-goyomi picture calendar from 1790. He had few students, one of whom was Kishi Bunshō (1754–96).

Biography source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

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59

Registered works

59

In museum collections

0

In gallery collections

0

In private collections

Featured works

Selected registered works by Ippitsusai Bunchō

Selected from 59 works by Ippitsusai Bunchō in the Collect24 Registry.

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Onoe Kikugorō I as Izumi no Saburō in the Play Snowflakes: Plum Blossoms Kaomise

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Onoe Kikugorō I as Izumi no Saburō in the Play Snowflakes: Plum Blossoms Kaomise, 1769

color woodblock print

30.6 × 14 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-195992

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Beauties at the Seashore

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Beauties at the Seashore, c. 1765–92

hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

41.3 × 54 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-115248

Ippitsusai Bunchō, One of Thirty-Six Flowers

Ippitsusai Bunchō

One of Thirty-Six Flowers, 1723–1792

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

26.4 × 19.1 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-268122

Ippitsusai Bunchō, A Courtesan Followed by a Girl Attendant Carrying a Doll

Ippitsusai Bunchō

A Courtesan Followed by a Girl Attendant Carrying a Doll, 1723–1792

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.8 × 14.9 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-268121

Ippitsusai Bunchō, The Third Princess (Onna San no Miya)

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Third Princess (Onna San no Miya), ca. 1771

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

29.8 × 14 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-253047

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Onoe Matsusuke as a Man Standing at Night at Yoshiwara

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Onoe Matsusuke as a Man Standing at Night at Yoshiwara, probably 1770

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

32.1 × 14.9 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-249631

Ippitsusai Bunchō, The Oiran Hanagiku Reading a Love Letter While Standing

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Oiran Hanagiku Reading a Love Letter While Standing, ca. 1769

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

29.5 × 14 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-249633

Ippitsusai Bunchō, A Waitress of the Sakai-ya Teahouse Standing and Looking

Ippitsusai Bunchō

A Waitress of the Sakai-ya Teahouse Standing and Looking, ca. 1770

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

30.6 × 14.3 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-249629

Ippitsusai Bunchō, The Actor Yamashita Kyonosuke in the Role of Tamarimaru

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Actor Yamashita Kyonosuke in the Role of Tamarimaru, ca. 1769

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.8 × 14.3 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-249647

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Arashi Otohachi I

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Arashi Otohachi I, ca. 1790

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

29.8 × 14.3 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-242198

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Onoe Kikugorō as Tonase, from Kanadehon Chūshingura (Kanadehon Chūshingura, Shosei Onoe Kikugorō no Tonase)

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Onoe Kikugorō as Tonase, from Kanadehon Chūshingura (Kanadehon Chūshingura, Shosei Onoe Kikugorō no Tonase), 1773

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

29.8 × 14.6 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-236644

Ippitsusai Bunchō, The Actor Bando Hikosaburo II in the Role of the Oiran Hatsuito of Yamashiro-ya

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Actor Bando Hikosaburo II in the Role of the Oiran Hatsuito of Yamashiro-ya, ca. 1770

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.1 × 14.6 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-236110

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