Explore the Reputation about the Utagawa Kunisada of this artwork.
Despite his success during his own period, Kunisada was not highly regarded in the west until quite recently. Critics today consider Kunisada to have been "a trendsetter... in tune with the tastes of urban society," and credit him with a "more humanized" style than his contemporaries, and with bringing a sense of realism to ukiyo-e, particularly in his depiction of the female form.
Many argue, however, that the quality of Kunisada's later works degraded into "gaudy and ostentatious" use of colour, and "lost... elegance in the human figure". Ukiyo-e specialist Rupert Faulkner is particularly scathing, asserting that Kunisada's work "became noticeably coarser and somewhat clumsy, revealing a cheap and gaudy caricaturism of grotesque facial expressions and exaggerated poses." It has been suggested that his production generally suffered "because of over-production and lowering of artistic standards," as well as possible mental or physical health issues, which led to Kunisada becoming a near-recluse in 1847. As art historian J. Hillier notes, "Kunisada's career tells the tragedy of the downfall of ukiyo-e. With evident talent and tremendous verve, his early prints have qualities that link him with the great days of the school, but the great mass of his prints are hastily designed, over-coloured and badly printed."
Ukiyo-e ukiyo-e Kunisada