Art on the way of fire: Landscapes of Mt. Fuji, by Utagawa Harumitsu.

A little levity after this month fertile in eruptions ... with two silk paintings included Mount Fuji.

They are part of a group of landscapes painted on silk by Harumitsu in the 1950s.

On some works he mentioned the following: "This painting was made by Mr. Harumitsu Utagawa, who is the only survivor of the seven descendants of Toyokuni Utagawa, the famous world-renowned artist of old time, with Hiroshige, Utamaro and Hokusai ".

Utagawa Toyokuni, 1769-1825, was a pupil of Utagawa Toyoharu, the founder of the Utagawa school.

"Landscape with Mount Fuji and lake" - of Harumitsu UTAGAWA - Ink and color on silk (285 x 430 mm).

These artists have created or are part of the main Ukiyo-e schools, a Japanese pictorial form that extends from 17th to 20th century.

These schools founded by a master, and continued by his most talented student and his successors have coexisted, or have followed, each bringing their own style and the technical key. They produced paintings and prints.

 

"Payasage with Mount Fuji and torrent" of HARUMITSU UTAGAWA - ink and color on silk (285 x 430 mm).

The complexity of the artists' names Ukiyo-e:

Ukiyo-e artists have the first name of their school, until found theirs. They identify themselves by their own name of artist, gō (号?) In Japanese, following the name of the school.

To further complicate the matters, the artists of the Ukiyo-e use several different names during their career ... and one of the best known examples is given by Hokusai, who used more than 55 different names throughout his life, changing of artist name at every major new work.
Hiroshige also illustrates this feature: Utagawa Hiroshige is the name given to it in 1812, a year after joining as a student his master Utagawa Toyohiro. His artist name, Hiroshige,   go down in history ... it is formed of the second character of the name of his master, Hiro, followed by the alternative reading of the first character of his first name. Taking the second character of the name of the teacher, not the first, reflects the humility of the student facing it.

Sources:

- Mattia Jona, Master Drawings and Prints, Japanese Prints - Piazzetta Guastalla 5, 20122 Milano

- Utagawa Toyokuni - wikipedia