Keisai Eisen

• Born: 1790
• Died: 1848
• Japanese: 渓斎英泉 (Keisai Eisen)

Keisai Eisen was a prominent ukiyo-e artist of the early 19th century. He is most known for his bijinga (images of beautiful women), in the style of his teacher Kikukawa Eizan (1787–1867), and showing strong influence from Utamaro (d. 1806). However, Eisen also created many works in other genres, including shunga, and contributed writing to a number of projects, including an 1833 addition to the Ukiyo-e ruiko.

A series of fan-prints by Eisen published in 1829 may have been the first ai-e - prints done exclusively (monochrome) in the imported artificial pigment Prussian blue.

References

• "Tongue in Cheek: Erotic Art in 19th-Century Japan," Honolulu Museum of Art, exhibition website, accessed 1 Dec 2014.