Kuniyoshi: Preparatory drawing for Iwai Shijaku (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Title: Preparatory drawing for Iwai Shijaku
Date: ca 1840s

Preparatory drawing for one sheet of a triptych. We see Iwai Shijaku as the nurse Jiju kneeling, her hands crossed and hair flowing down. The print shows this figure in a mirror image, so at some point during print production there must have been a decision to change the relationship of the characters in the triptych. The triptych can be seen on the British Museum website and the MFA website. This is not a rare print, so it should be quite possible to find the triptych before too long. It is a wonderful rarity to find the print that matches a drawing in such an interesting way, and to be able to compare the drawing with the final print. The major elements of the figure have all been conserved. Kuniyoshi here has practiced different types of roundels that seem to include paulawnia flowers, which were incorporated into the design of the actor’s robes. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/actors-nakamura-utaemon-iv-as-chikuzen-no-kami-hisayoshi-band-katsujir-as-teruwaka-no-kimi-r-and-iwai-shijaku-i-as-the-wet-nurse-menoto-jij-l-497524 http://www.fujiarts.com/cgi-bin/item.pl?item=320892 http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=591255&objectid=3278895

Condition: Area of paper loss, upper left.
Dimensions: 31 x 22 cm, approx

SKU: DRW423