Ishikawa Toyonobu
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese ukiyo-e
print
artist. He is sometimes said to have been the same person as Nishimura Shigenobu, a contemporary ukiyo-e artist and student of Nishimura Shigenaga about whom very little is known.
A pupil of Nishimura Shigenaga, Toyonobu produced many monochrome "lacquer prints" (urushi-e
) which reflected the influence of Okumura Masanobu
as well. Many of these were yakusha-e
(actor prints) and bijinga
(images of beautiful women), including images of standing courtesan
s, whose faces conveyed an impassivity typical of the works of the Kaigetsudō school
.
Toyonobu also experimented with semi-nude forms, something his chief predecessors also did, but never succeeded in developing it into a trend or sub-genre within ukiyo-e. Art historian Richard Lane
points out that these images, depicting women with the top half of their kimono open and let down to reveal their chests, were intended as suggestive and erotic, and were not "glorification of the human form such as we find in Greek art."
Later in his career, Toyonobu became one of the leading producers of color prints, chiefly benizuri-e
("rose prints"), but stopped producing ukiyo-e shortly after Suzuki Harunobu
pioneered the full-color print (nishiki-e
) in 1765.
He had one notable pupil, Ishikawa Toyomasa, who is known chiefly for his depictions of children at play, and who may have been Toyonobu's son.
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
Woodblock printing in Japan
Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre; however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. Woodblock printing had been used in China for centuries to print books, long before the advent of movable type, but was only...
artist. He is sometimes said to have been the same person as Nishimura Shigenobu, a contemporary ukiyo-e artist and student of Nishimura Shigenaga about whom very little is known.
A pupil of Nishimura Shigenaga, Toyonobu produced many monochrome "lacquer prints" (urushi-e
Urushi-e
Urushi-e , literally meaning "lacquer picture," refers to two types of Japanese artworks: paintings painted with actual lacquer, and particular woodblock printing styles which use regular ink but are said to resemble the darkness and thickness of black lacquer.-Prints:Urushi-e woodblock prints were...
) which reflected the influence of Okumura Masanobu
Okumura Masanobu
was a Japanese print designer, book publisher, and painter. He also illustrated novelettes and in his early years wrote some fiction. At first his work adhered to the Torii school, but later drifted beyond that. He is a figure in the formative era of ukiyo-e doing early works on actors and bijinga...
as well. Many of these were yakusha-e
Yakusha-e
Yakusha-e , often referred to as "actor prints" in English, are Japanese woodblock prints or, rarely, paintings, of kabuki actors, particularly those done in the ukiyo-e style popular through the Edo period and into the beginnings of the 20th century...
(actor prints) and bijinga
Bijinga
Bijinga , is a generic term for pictures of beautiful women in Japanese art, especially in woodblock printing of the ukiyo-e genre, which predate photography...
(images of beautiful women), including images of standing courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
s, whose faces conveyed an impassivity typical of the works of the Kaigetsudō school
Kaigetsudo school
The Kaigetsudō school was a school of ukiyo-e painting and printmaking founded in Edo around 1700-1714. It is often said that the various Kaigetsudō artists' styles are so similar, many scholars find it nearly impossible to differentiate them; thus, many Kaigetsudō paintings are attributed to the...
.
Toyonobu also experimented with semi-nude forms, something his chief predecessors also did, but never succeeded in developing it into a trend or sub-genre within ukiyo-e. Art historian Richard Lane
Richard Douglas Lane
Richard Lane was an American scholar, author, collector, and dealer of Japanese art. He lived in Japan for much of his life, and had a long association with the Honolulu Academy of Arts in Hawaii, which now holds his vast art collection.-Life:...
points out that these images, depicting women with the top half of their kimono open and let down to reveal their chests, were intended as suggestive and erotic, and were not "glorification of the human form such as we find in Greek art."
Later in his career, Toyonobu became one of the leading producers of color prints, chiefly benizuri-e
Benizuri-e
' are a type of “primitive” ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints. They were usually printed in pink and green, occasionally with the addition of another color, either printed or added by hand. The production of benizuri-e reached its peak in the early 1740s...
("rose prints"), but stopped producing ukiyo-e shortly after Suzuki Harunobu
Suzuki Harunobu
was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints. Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of...
pioneered the full-color print (nishiki-e
Nishiki-e
refers to Japanese multi-colored woodblock printing; this technique is used primarily in ukiyo-e. It was invented in the 1760s, and perfected and popularized by the printmaker Suzuki Harunobu, who produced a great many nishiki-e prints between 1765 and his death five years later.Previously, most...
) in 1765.
He had one notable pupil, Ishikawa Toyomasa, who is known chiefly for his depictions of children at play, and who may have been Toyonobu's son.