Seiyōsai Shunshi (青陽齋春子) (artist )
Seiyōsai (gō - 青陽齋)Shun'yōsai (gō - 春陽齋)
Seiyōdō (gō - 青陽堂 - used in 1826)
Shunpu (gō)
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Biography:
There were at least three different artists who used the name Shunshi around the same time. However, in each case the 'shi' element was written with a different kanji character. This particular Shunshi was active, according to Keyes, from ca. 1826-28.
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The curatorial files at the Met say of this artist: "The little known artist Seiyōsai Shunshi was said to have studied under Shunkōsai Hokushū, and all of his known works are actor portraits. We can assume that, like many Osaka print artists, he was a wealthy Kabuki fan who created print designs as an avocation, not profession."
"There is often confusion over the identities of three different Osaka artists who used the art name “Shunshi,” though each used a different character for “shi,” and the artist here is not same Shunshi who created a number of portraits of Onoe Tamizō II (1799–1886), as previous specialists have suggested. Some sources say that this Seiyōsai Shunshi died in 1860, but this does not line up with the period of his artistic activity, which most records and surviving prints indicate was limited to the mid-Bunsei era (1818–29). Prints by this artist are exceedingly rare, and there are only three examples by Seiyōsai Shunshi’s in the compendious collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see MFA 11.35233–5). Seiyōsai Shunshi was said to have studied under Shunkōsai Hokushū, and all of his known works are actor portraits. We can assume that, like many Osaka print artists, he was wealthy Kabuki fan who created print designs as an avocation, not profession."
