Busteportret van Iwai Hanshiro IV.
Toshusai Sharaku
1794
Medium
nishiki-e
Dimensions
244; 358
About this artwork
blad: hoogte 358 mm x breedte 244 mm
Art Historical Context
Toshusai Sharaku created this striking bust portrait of the renowned kabuki actor Iwai Hanshiro IV in 1794, during his remarkably brief but influential career. Active for only about ten months, Sharaku produced around 140 actor prints that captured the expressive intensity of Edo-period theater. His works stand out for their psychological depth, often portraying performers with bold, almost caricatural features that revealed both character and emotion. The print is executed in nishiki-e, the vibrant full-color woodblock technique that revolutionized Japanese printmaking in the late eighteenth...