Katsukawa Shunchō
Japanese, active about 1780 - 1801
Print designer, book illustrator and painter. Among (1) Katsukawa Shunsho-’s students, only Shunko- and (5) Katsukawa Shun’ei excelled Shuncho-. Shuncho-’s earliest extant works are the illustrations for the kibyo-shi (‘yellow cover’ book; comic novel) Tsu-jin kokoroe chigai (‘Misunderstanding by a man about town’, 1783; Tokyo, Dai To-kyu- Mem. Found.). While Shuncho- produced few book illustrations, he designed many bijinga (‘pictures of beautiful women’) nishikie (‘brocade pictures’; full-colour prints). Although a member of the Katsukawa school, Shuncho- emulated the style of Torii Kiyonaga (see Torii, (8)); many of Shuncho-’s best bijinga bear a striking resemblance to those by Kiyonaga. Shuncho- depicted Takashima Ohisa and Naniwaya Okita (both c. 1793; Chicago, IL, A. Inst.), well-known beauties of the time who appear in many of Kitagawa Utamaro’s works. Shuncho- briefly competed with Kiyonaga, but never developed his own style. Shuncho- gave up nishikie around 1790, when Kiyonaga became the fourth-generation head of the Torii school. Shuncho- also produced yakushae (‘pictures of actors’) that show the style of Kiyonaga. Shuncho-’s nikuhitsuga (‘original paintings’; polychrome paintings) are clearly influenced by his teacher, Shunsho- (see Japan, §VI, 4(iv)(b)). Among his few book illustrations, his best known are Ehon Chiyo no Aki (‘Picture book of eternal autumn’, c. 1790; Cologne, Gerhard Pulverer priv. col.), Ehon momiji no hashi (‘Picture book of maple bridge’) and Ehon sakaegusa (‘Picture book of prosperous house’, 1790; Tokyo, N. Diet Lib.). The hanashibon (‘story-book’) Buji shu-i (‘Collection of quiet life’, 1798; Tokyo, N. Diet Lib.) is the last book Shuncho- illustrated. Around that time Shuncho- gave up ukiyoe altogether; he became a student of the poet and ukiyoe artist, Kubo shunman and wrote verse under the pseudonym Kissado- Shuncho-.
Susumu Matsudaira and Tadashi Kobayashi. "Katsukawa." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T045995pg4 (accessed May 8, 2012).
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