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Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) The Monster SkeletonEdo period (1615-1868), circa 1844
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2022年03月23日 开拍 / 2022年03月21日 截止委托
拍品描述
The Monster Skeleton
Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1844
An oban tate-e print triptych entitled Soma no furudairi ni Masakado himegimi Takiyasha yojutsu o motte mikata o atsumuru, Oya no Taro Mitsukuni yokai o tamesan to koko ni kitari tsui ni kore o horobosu (In the Ruined Palace of [Taira] Masakado at Soma His Daughter Princess Takiyasha Uses Sorcery to Summon Allies, Oya no Taro Mitsukuni Comes to Put the Monster to the Test and Finally Destroys It), with red cartouches identifying (right to left) Takiyasha's faithful servant Araimaru, Oya no Taro Mitsukuni, and Princess Takiyasha; each sheet signed Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga (the right-hand sheet with paulownia-leaf seal); publisher's marks Hachi; censor's seals Watari (3)
14 3/4 x 10 1/8in (37.4 x 25.7cm) each approximately Widely considered among the very finest of Utagawa Kuniyoshi's three-sheet historical and mythological prints, over recent decades this arresting image has become almost as famous and sought-after as his contemporary Hokusai's great views of Mount Fuji. The background to the appearance of the skeleton specter is as follows: Taira no Masakado (d.940) had once tried to set himself up as a rival to the legitimate emperor of Japan, building his own imperial palace in a remote part of the country. His daughter the beautiful sorceress Takiyasha (seen at left) lives on in the dilapidated building along with her retainer Araimaru (right), her presence a lingering threat to the authority of the rival Minamoto clan, whose leader Yorinobu (968-1048) sends the hero Oya no Taro Mitsukuni (center) to destroy her. Kuniyoshi draws us into the very heart of the drama as Mitsukuni, undeterred by the vast, looming presence of the skeleton clutching at the palace's decaying blinds, subdues the hapless Araimaru without so much as unsheathing his sword.
Kuniyoshi drew on multiple sources—both Japanese and European—in conceiving this extraordinary work, perhaps starting with an illustrated novella published nearly 40 years earlier that featured armies of hundreds of skeletons; a later print by Hokusai, as well as theatrical performances featuring model skeletons, may also have inspired him. As with several other triptychs from this phase in his career, Kuniyoshi chose to simplify things as much as possible, featuring just one skeleton to unify the whole composition. He is thought to have owned a collection of imported prints and the confident anatomical authenticity of the specter likely owed much to his study of Western medical illustration.
The present lot has vivid, clear colors and like the example in the British Museum retains patches of darker black on the skeleton's ribs, in the eye sockets and on the skull; this is considered to be a feature of earlier impressions, along with the partially wiped strip of black across the top of each sheet, not seen in later printings.
Reference
Timothy Clark, Kuniyoshi: From the Arthur R. Miller Collection, exhibition catalogue, London, Royal Academy of Arts, 2009, cat. no. 25; Lawrence Smith and others, Japanese Art: Masterpieces in the British Museum, London, 1990, p.221; other impressions: British Museum, London, accession number 1915,0823,0.915-916; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession number 11.30468-70

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