UTAGAWA KUNISADA

born 1786, Edo died Jan. 13, 1865, Edo Japanese artist who was probably the most prolific of all the painters and printmakers of the ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) movement. He was particularly known for his erotically decadent portraits of women, executed with a powerful, free style. Kunisada also excelled at portraits of actors, which were frequently more original than those of his teacher Utagawa Toyokuni. His masterpiece is a series of illustrations for Nise murasaki inaka genji, a parody by Ryutei Tanehiko of The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari).