Utagawa Toyokuni I (初代 歌川 豊国)
Utagawa Toyokuni I (初代 歌川 豊国) was active in printmaking between 1769 and 1784. The artist is represented in major Western museum collections, with fifteen of their known works preserved institutionally.
The Art Institute of Chicago holds numerous examples of the artist’s output, confirming the scope and quality of the prints created during this period. The documented works cover a range of subjects, including theatrical scenes, genre studies, and depictions of elite daily life.
Notable examples of Utagawa Toyokuni I (初代 歌川 豊国) prints include studies of performance, such as Acrobats on a Ladder and Actor in a scene from a drama. Social commentary and domestic life are also key features of his work, exemplified by Ladies behind screen in a daimyo's mansion and A Parody of Hachi no ki. The artist also produced subjects within multi-print series, such as The Four Seasons in the South (Minami Shiki): Summer Scene.
As these historical works are now typically in the public domain, they allow for extensive scholarly review. High-quality prints of Utagawa Toyokuni I’s works are frequently made available as downloadable artwork through institutional archives.
