Japanese print, Ipomée, Morning Glory, KUNISADA

Utagawa Kunisada, 1786-1865

Plate from the Legendary Tales of Knights series: actor Iwai Hanshiro VII as Miuraya Agemaki

Utagawa Kunisada, also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III, was one of the most popular ukiyo-e painters in 19th-century Japan. It is estimated that he produced more than 20,000 works during his lifetime.
Kunisada was not only a brilliant artist, but also an excellent businessman who met with enormous commercial success from the first publications of his portraits of kabuki actors in 1808. His reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige or Kuniyoshi.
This print is part of one of the last series produced by Kunisada two years before his death. It is a series of kabuki plays on "chivalry" or "justice". The great mastery of printing, the exceptional colors used and the incredible reproduction of details make this a luxury series highly sought after by collectors.