Nise-e (似絵), or "likeness pictures," were a style of portraiture popular in the court circles of Japan's Kamakura period. Prior to the 12th century Japanese art was purely religious in character, but nise-e introduced the realistic depiction of lay figures such as courtiers and samurai. The popularity of nise-e even helped to end the taboo against artistic depictions of the emperor, with one of earliest nise-e to depict a living emperor being a portrait of Emperor Hanazono by Gōshin. The aim of a nise-e portrait was to capture a man's character with a few simple lines; and the work served as a veneration of his accomplishments.
Fujiwara Takanobu is generally considered to have originated the nise-e style and technique. He innovated the use of jutting, angular outlines and dense swaths of color which came to characterize nise-e portraiture as a whole. Takanobu's influence is seen in the works of his son Fujiwara Nobuzane, and descendants Tametsugu, Korenobu, Tamenobu, and Gōshin, who continued to develop the nise-e school alongside others such as Shinkai and Tametaga. Nise-e portraiture also greatly influenced the 18th century portrait style nigao-e (likeness head), pioneered by Katsukawa Shunshō in response to a desire for actor portraits with realistic and expressive facial features.
References
- ^ "nise-e | Japanese art". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
- Steiner, Evgeny (2013). "Zen Portraits Chinzō: Why do They Look as They do?". Terebess Asia Online – via Google Scholar.
- Hirayama, Mikiko (2011). "The Emperor's New Clothes: Japanese Visuality and Imperial Portrait Photography". History of Photography. 33 (2): 165–184. doi:10.1080/03087290902768099.
- "Takanobu". Benezit Dictionary of Artists – via Oxford Art Online.
- "Fujiwara Takanobu | Japanese painter". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
- "Fujiwara Nobuzane | Japanese painter". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
- "Nobuzane". Benezit Dictionary of Artists – via Oxford Art Online.
- "Shunsho". Benezit Dictionary of Artists – via Oxford Art Online.
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