Sharaku: The Enigmatic Ukiyo-E Master - Hardcover

Narazaki, Muneshige

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 4770019106 ISBN 13: 9784770019103

Publisher: Kodansha Amer Inc, 1994

Synopsis

Rembrandt, Velazquez, and Toshusai Sharaku have been called the greatest portrait artists of all time. Of the three, Sharaku's name is undoubtedly the least widely known. This comparative obscurity may be due to the fact that Sharaku was ignored in his own country and time, Japan of the eighteenth century, and remained in obscurity until his powerful portraits of Kabuki actors were discovered over one hundred years later by Western artists and critics. Another possible reason for Sharaku's lesser reputation is that his artistic career spanned scarcely ten months, after which his critics hounded him from the art world. Added to this is the fact that virtually no records have come down to us that reveal his identity - the man himself is a mystery shrouded in a mystery. Despite these obstacles, however, many of the works of Sharaku have survived, and anyone with an eye for powerful, unflinching art will them infinitely worthy of their attention.
Although we are still largely ignorant as to the identity of Sharaku, a few clues have come to light. The last section of the book, thus, is given over to the description of documents and works of art that may eventually lead to a fuller portrait of this great portrait artist.

About this title

Language Notes:

Text: English, Japanese (translation)

Review:

Sharaku produced over a hundred woodblock prints featuring the "floating world" of old Japan; but relatively little is known of the artist. Muneshige Narazaki's Sharaku (4-7700-1910-6, $40. 00) gathers his works with over sixty color plates and almost two hundred illustrations providing a strong catalog of his works. Use this as a foundation guide to the Ukiuo-e master's creations. Seiji Nagata's Hokusai (1928-9, $40. 00) examines this well-known Asian artist's creations, presenting rich color reproductions of his panels and themes and exploring his themes and techniques. The assessments of style and content provide some revealing insights. -- Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Kodansha Amer Inc
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 4770019106
• ISBN 13: 9784770019103
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96