In Milan, the first exhibition on the ukiyo-e of Utagawa Kuniyoshi

October 4, 2017 saw the opening in Milan of the exhibition "Kunyioshi. The Visionary of the Floating World," which will end on January 28, 2018.

Set up at the Museo della Permanente, curated by Rossella Menegazzo, this is the first exhibition dedicated to Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), Japanese painter and draftsman and undisputed master ofukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese artistic printmaking on paper, imprinted with wooden matrices.

Kuniyoshi’s name is mostly associated with illusionistic games, made of shadows and composite figures (almost reminiscent of Arcimboldo’s manner ), i.e., figures embedded in other figures, and parodies of stories and battles starring animals, objects, sweets, food. Imaginative, baroque images, rich in color and dense with minute details.

Kuniyoshi’s skill and curiosity led him to important innovations in the technical field as well: drawing heavily from Western painting, he came to imitate the rendering of engraving from a copper plate instead of a wooden matrix, thus distinguishing himself from the landscape masters Hiroshige and Hokusai.

Kuniyoshi was also a beloved figure in Europe, when reproductions of his works landed, and, in particular, in France: in fact ,Monet had some hanging in the kitchen of his famous home in Giverny.

The exhibition will present 165 of the artist’s works, all from Japan: bizarre, visionary worlds dotted with beautiful women, as well as kabuki actors, cats, carp and mythical and fantastic animals, as well as legendary heroes, samurai and brigands are all protagonists of Kuniyoshi’s signature art.

Theitinerary is divided into five thematic sections: "Beauty“; ”Landscapes“; ”Heroes and Warriors, "with a special sub-section ("Suikoden Heroes ") dedicated to the 108 Suikoden heroes ; “Animals and Parodies” and "Cats." This last section, "Cats," is dedicated to perhaps Kuniyoshi’s greatest passion, one of the themes that make his personality even more mysterious and eccentric.

Ticket price: full price € 13, reduced € 11 / € 8 / € 6. Free under 6 years old. Hours: daily from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., last admission one hour before closing. Extra days and hours: Nov. 1 - 2; Dec. 8; Dec. 25 - 26; Jan. 1 and 6 from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. Catalog published by Skira. Info on the exhibition website, www.kuniyoshimilano.it. The exhibition has obtained the patronage of the City of Milan and the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Milan.

Image: Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Princess Takiyasha Awakens a Monstrous Skeleton at the Palace of Sōma (Sōma no furudairi), circa 1845-46, 37.2 x 25.4 cm each

In Milan, the first exhibition on the ukiyo-e of Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.