Caricatures of Laughing Actors Scribbled on a Wall (Hakumensho kabe no mudagaki)
c. 1848/51
Medium
Color woodblock print; center sheet of oban triptych (right: 1975.474, left: 1975.475)
Dimensions
35.4 × 24.9 cm (13 15/16 × 9 13/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
149484
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 19th-century Japanese uyo-e, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) captures the exuberant spirit of kabuki theater inCaricatures of Laughing Actors Scribbled on a (Hakumensho kabe no mudagaki)*, circa 1848–51. This playful center sheet of an oban tript—measuring 35.4 × 24.9 cm—depicts, scribble-like portraits of grinning actors, evoking graffiti on a wall. Kuniyoshi, a master of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") movement, was renowned for his dynamic warrior prints and satirical humor, often pushing boundaries under the strict censorship of the late Edo period. Pr...
About the Artist
Utagawa Kuniyoshi · 1797–1861
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) was born in Edo to the silk-dyer Yanagiya Kichiyemon, originally bearing the childhood name Yoshisaburō. From a young age, he assisted in his family's pattern design work, which sharpened his innate mastery of color and textile motifs that would permeate his later prints. At around twelve years old, his prodigious drawing skills drew the attention of the renowned Utag...