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A study on the stylistic transformation of Kunisada paintings of beauty in the 19th century

milim Lee 1

1성결대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Before the Bunka period, the typical expressions used in paintings were similar to those of Utamaro and Toyokuni. Moreover, one can easily witness the unique characteristics of Kunisada, such as the dynamic posture and the tension in the Bunsei-era Kunisada. In particular, the emergence of Mira-motive is indispensable for the development of Okubi-e. If Utamro was a bijin okubi that alluded to a mirror using kira (雲母) on the 大首絵, then Kunisada’s was an epoch-making one that meant the reflection of a beautiful woman in a mirror that has no substance (or exists outside the screen). I created a “modern makeup mirror - combined mirror” in collaboration with Hirosige, a popular landscape painter. She focused on expressing the rich facial expressions and natural proportions of women, to show that women are a part of nature. The lively and dynamic facial and physical expressions of the women depicted in Kunisada Bijinga were later sublimated by Kuniyosi in the late- Edo period, and by his disciples in the Meiji period.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.