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| Nishikawa Sukenobu was a prominent early ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' artist and designer of book illustrations in the Kyoto area. Even more prolific than his rough contemporaries [[Hishikawa Moronobu]] (d. 1694) and [[Yoshida Hanbei]] (active c. 1664-1690), Sukenobu designed thousands of illustrations for over two hundred books. | | Nishikawa Sukenobu was a prominent early ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' artist and designer of book illustrations in the Kyoto area. Even more prolific than his rough contemporaries [[Hishikawa Moronobu]] (d. 1694) and [[Yoshida Hanbei]] (active c. 1664-1690), Sukenobu designed thousands of illustrations for over two hundred books. |
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− | He trained from a young age in the painting styles of the [[Kano school|Kanô]] and [[Tosa school]]s, only first beginning to produce book illustrations and other works of "popular" art around 1698. Many of his works prominently feature [[bijinga|beautiful women]], many of them showing particular creativity and taste in inventing kimono designs; Sukenobu was in fact commissioned on several occasions by kimono-makers to create textile designs for them. | + | He trained from a young age in the painting styles of the [[Kano school|Kanô]] and [[Tosa school]]s; it is said he trained specifically under [[Kano Eino|Kanô Einô]] and [[Tosa Mitsusuke]]<ref name=yuwaku>''Edo no yûwaku: bosuton bijutsukan shozô nikuhitsu ukiyoe ten'' (江戸の誘惑・ボストン美術館所蔵肉筆浮世絵展、"The Allure of Edo: Ukiyo-e Painting from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston"). Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun-sha, 2006. p186.</ref>, only first beginning to produce book illustrations and other works of "popular" art around 1698. Shortly afterward he began working with the [[Hachimonjiya]] publishers/booksellers, producing illustrations for ''[[ukiyo-e zoshi|ukiyo-e zôshi]]'', ''[[hyobanki|yakusha hyôbanki]]'' (actor critiques & rankings), and other works. His name first appeared on the [[colophon]] for a book in 1708, and the first illustrated book (''ehon'') he fully designed himself was published in 1723<ref name=yuwaku/>. |
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| + | Many of his works prominently feature [[bijinga|beautiful women]], many of them showing particular creativity and taste in inventing kimono designs; Sukenobu was in fact commissioned on several occasions by kimono-makers to create textile designs for them. |
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| Most of his works, however, are said to have focused upon romantic fictions or the hobbies and pleasures of the women of Kyoto. ''Ukiyo-e'' expert [[Richard Lane]] writes that Sukenobu's style was profoundly influential, and characterized by a "subdued conception of lovely, unobtrusive grace (perhaps closer to actual Japanese womanhood than that of any other artist"<ref>Lane. p58.</ref>. | | Most of his works, however, are said to have focused upon romantic fictions or the hobbies and pleasures of the women of Kyoto. ''Ukiyo-e'' expert [[Richard Lane]] writes that Sukenobu's style was profoundly influential, and characterized by a "subdued conception of lovely, unobtrusive grace (perhaps closer to actual Japanese womanhood than that of any other artist"<ref>Lane. p58.</ref>. |
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| + | Sukenobu is also known for his ''[[shunga]]'', or erotica. Between the years 1710 and 1733, at least thirty volumes of erotica designed by Sukenobu were published; roughly one-third of these were published between 1719 and 1722.<ref>"[http://shunga.honolulumuseum.org/index.php?page=1 The Arts of the Bedchamber: Japanese Shunga]." Exhibition Website. Honolulu Museum of Art, 2012.</ref> |
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| + | Sukenobu is not said to have had any direct pupils of particular note. While his work is said to have been a significant influence upon the entire ''ukiyo-e'' tradition, its influence is most especially seen in the work of [[Suzuki Harunobu]]. |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |