Samurai. Stars of the Stage and Beautiful Women

In the early 1960s, what was then the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf received a large gift of Japanese woodcuts (Ukiyo-e), a gift to which the donor would generously add until 1988. This catalogue presents 220 pieces from this collection, by the enormously prolific illustrators Kunisada (1786-1865) and Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), masters of the Utagawa School. The prints of these artists transport the observer into a colorful, imaginative dream world of Kabuki actors, mythical creatures, hauntingly beautiful women and fierce warriors. This publication offers a rare opportunity to compare the two artists´ illustrations of the same themes, and includes essays that provide an introduction to nineteenth-century Japanese popular culture and bridge the gap between the centuries by exploring aspects of the grotesque in Japanese art, explaining legends and plays, and presenting some of Kuniyoshi´s preliminary studies.