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SHUNTEI Miyagawa
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Artist ¨C SHUNTEI
Miyagawa (Œm´¨ ´ºÍ¡) (1873 - 1914), also known as
"Gyoshi" ("ô~
³á"); Moriyoshi ("Êؼª");
"Watanabe" (family name, "¶ÉÞx"). He
was born in Aichi prefecture, and lived in Edo. Pupil first of
Watanabe Shoka, later Tomioka Eisen. As most of his generation
of print artists, he worked as a book and newspaper
illustrator. SHUNTEI Miyagawa
is known for his genre print subjects of women and playing
children. The artist was said to belittled by Japanese art
critics during his lifetime. Miyagawa SHUNTEI's two greatest series of
woodcuts, "Pictures of Customs" and "Flowers of the World of
Pleasure",were both published in Tokyo in 1897. SHUNTEI's finest art was in the
genre of bijin-ga; portrayals of beautiful women. In this
regard, he is often deemed by scholars as a precursor to the
woodcuts of the following generation of famous Shin Hanga
artists.
In 1890 he was apprenticed to the painter Watanabe Shoka. He later became pupil of Tomioka Eisen, wher he learned woodblock printmaking. Tomioka Eisen was a well-known designer of kuchi-e and other typical Meiji prints. Eisen gave him his first "ga"-name "Yomogitokiarai Kei" ("Åî”ÈÏ´¹ç"), but in 1895 renamed himself to SHUNTEI Miyagawa (Œm´¨´ºÍ¡).
In the West, woodcuts of the Meiji era (1868-1912) were regarded as being garish and unrefined. The introduction of Western pigments and artistic styles (c. 1865) had created a dynamic change in Japanese art. Bold new colour patterns and equally revolutionary design concepts began to influence the art of the woodcut. Far from ruining traditional art forms, however, Meiji artists injected a vitality into the woodcut by amalgamating Japanese and Western forms. The great masters of this era, Yoshitoshi, Chikanobu, Ginko, Miyagawa SHUNTEI and others, thus created a number of beautiful images and contemporary scholarship now favourably compares their works with the art of earlier nineteenth century woodcut artists.
SHUNTEI Miyagawa produced his finest work at the end of the nineteenth century. His two greatest series of woodcuts, "Pictures of Customs" and "Flowers of the World of Pleasure", were both published in Tokyo in 1897. SHUNTEI Miyagawa's finest art was in the genre of bijin-ga (portrayals of beautiful women). In this regard, he is often regarded by scholars as a precursor to the woodcuts of the following generation of famous Shin Hanga artists such as Goyo, Shinsui and (most notably) Kotondo.
Personal life - He was born as "WATANABE Moriyoshi" (or "Watanabe Mamorukichi", "¶É Þx Êؼª") in 1873 in the small town of Tahra in Mikawa province, now Aichi prefecture. His father was a wealthy pharmceutical drugs wholesale merchant, who also ran a small cargo vessel industry. His mother belonged to the Miagawa family. In 1878 they moved to his mothers family estate in Edo and "Morioshi" was renamed "Miyagawa".
He was married and had at least two issues. In 1905 he lost his beloved eldest daughter in a train accident, an incident which threw him mentally from the web. He hardly recoverd from that blow and was hospitalized. In 1913 he once again was willing to give an exhibition. In mid 1914m he died at the early age of 42. His ashes are buried to his daughter's grave, where most of it's is buried in the Miyagawa family shrine in his hometown of Fukue (¸£½).
Aliases - WATANABE Morioshi (¶ÉÞx Êؼª), MIYAGAWA Shuntei (Œm´¨´ºÍ¡), Yomogitokiarai Kei (Åî”ÈÏ´¹ç), and Gyoshi (ô~³á)
Disciples - none known
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In 1890 he was apprenticed to the painter Watanabe Shoka. He later became pupil of Tomioka Eisen, wher he learned woodblock printmaking. Tomioka Eisen was a well-known designer of kuchi-e and other typical Meiji prints. Eisen gave him his first "ga"-name "Yomogitokiarai Kei" ("Åî”ÈÏ´¹ç"), but in 1895 renamed himself to SHUNTEI Miyagawa (Œm´¨´ºÍ¡).
In the West, woodcuts of the Meiji era (1868-1912) were regarded as being garish and unrefined. The introduction of Western pigments and artistic styles (c. 1865) had created a dynamic change in Japanese art. Bold new colour patterns and equally revolutionary design concepts began to influence the art of the woodcut. Far from ruining traditional art forms, however, Meiji artists injected a vitality into the woodcut by amalgamating Japanese and Western forms. The great masters of this era, Yoshitoshi, Chikanobu, Ginko, Miyagawa SHUNTEI and others, thus created a number of beautiful images and contemporary scholarship now favourably compares their works with the art of earlier nineteenth century woodcut artists.
SHUNTEI Miyagawa produced his finest work at the end of the nineteenth century. His two greatest series of woodcuts, "Pictures of Customs" and "Flowers of the World of Pleasure", were both published in Tokyo in 1897. SHUNTEI Miyagawa's finest art was in the genre of bijin-ga (portrayals of beautiful women). In this regard, he is often regarded by scholars as a precursor to the woodcuts of the following generation of famous Shin Hanga artists such as Goyo, Shinsui and (most notably) Kotondo.
Personal life - He was born as "WATANABE Moriyoshi" (or "Watanabe Mamorukichi", "¶É Þx Êؼª") in 1873 in the small town of Tahra in Mikawa province, now Aichi prefecture. His father was a wealthy pharmceutical drugs wholesale merchant, who also ran a small cargo vessel industry. His mother belonged to the Miagawa family. In 1878 they moved to his mothers family estate in Edo and "Morioshi" was renamed "Miyagawa".
He was married and had at least two issues. In 1905 he lost his beloved eldest daughter in a train accident, an incident which threw him mentally from the web. He hardly recoverd from that blow and was hospitalized. In 1913 he once again was willing to give an exhibition. In mid 1914m he died at the early age of 42. His ashes are buried to his daughter's grave, where most of it's is buried in the Miyagawa family shrine in his hometown of Fukue (¸£½).
Aliases - WATANABE Morioshi (¶ÉÞx Êؼª), MIYAGAWA Shuntei (Œm´¨´ºÍ¡), Yomogitokiarai Kei (Åî”ÈÏ´¹ç), and Gyoshi (ô~³á)
Disciples - none known
Copyright 2008 ff: Hans P. Boehme