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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, The Oiran Chōzan of Chōjiya, from the series Love Letters

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Oiran Chōzan of Chōjiya, from the series Love Letters, ca. 1769

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

32.4 × 15.2 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-265992

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Actor Matsumoto Koshiro II as Uiro-uri (Peddler of Sweet Cakes Called Uiro)

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Actor Matsumoto Koshiro II as Uiro-uri (Peddler of Sweet Cakes Called Uiro), ca. 1770

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.1 × 14.6 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-262722

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Handayu, An Actor in a Female Role

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Handayu, An Actor in a Female Role, 1723–1792

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

32.4 × 15.6 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-236744

Ippitsusai Buncho, Träsnitt, Bildkonst, Woodcut, Print, Woodblock

Ippitsusai Buncho

Träsnitt, Bildkonst, Woodcut, Print, Woodblock

Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities

C24-724594

Ippitsusai Buncho, Träsnitt, Bildkonst, Print, Woodcut, Woodblock

Ippitsusai Buncho

Träsnitt, Bildkonst, Print, Woodcut, Woodblock

Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities

C24-727173

Ippitsusai Bunchō, The Second Segawa Kikunojō in the Role of Reizei in "Ima-o-sakari Suehiro Genji"

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Second Segawa Kikunojō in the Role of Reizei in "Ima-o-sakari Suehiro Genji", 12th month, 1768

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

32.1 × 14.9 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-262717

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Ichimura Uzaemon IX in the Role of Kiyohime in Musume Dōjōji (the Girl of Dōjōji)

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Ichimura Uzaemon IX in the Role of Kiyohime in Musume Dōjōji (the Girl of Dōjōji), ca. 1771

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

32.4 × 14.9 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-262719

Ippitsusai Bunchō, The First Ichikawa Komazo (who in 1772 became the fourth Matsumoto Koshiro) in the Role of Yoemon

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The First Ichikawa Komazo (who in 1772 became the fourth Matsumoto Koshiro) in the Role of Yoemon, 1770

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.1 × 14.3 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-262714

Ippitsusai Bunchō, Mimasuya Sukejuro as a Samurai Attired in Kamishimo

Ippitsusai Bunchō

Mimasuya Sukejuro as a Samurai Attired in Kamishimo, ca. 1770

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

31.1 × 14.1 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-254342

Ippitsusai Bunchō, The Actor Ichikawa Komazo I as Yorimasa

Ippitsusai Bunchō

The Actor Ichikawa Komazo I as Yorimasa, 1770

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

32.1 × 14.6 cm

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

C24-249645

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Artists from the same period

Japanese artists born around the same time