Utagawa TOYOKUNI I (1769-1825), "Two Manzai Dancers."

Color woodcut, Edo period,
oban, 36.7 x 24.7,
Signed l.d.: Ichiyosai Toyokuni ga,
publisher's stamp: Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudo).
Preserved condition: woodcut entirely glued with paper, several reddish stains, discoloration, rubbing and creases, bottom edge of board slightly cut off.
In the accompanying woodcut, Ms. Małgorzata Martini, senior curator at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Kraków, does not explicitly attribute the authorship of the presented print to Utagawa Toyokuni I, suggesting that the signature may also point to his pupil, Utagawa Kunisada, who for a time signed his works Ichiyosai Toyokuni.

An outstanding Japanese color woodcut artist, he was a master of ukiyo-e, known for his prints depicting kabuki theater actors. Active in Edo, he belonged to the Utagawa school, which he headed after the death of his master and also the school's founder, Toyoharu. He himself trained many artists. In addition to portraits of actors, he is the author of woodcuts depicting warriors, beautiful women (bijinga) and erotic scenes (shunga).