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長谷川貞信画 三代目尾上菊五郎|Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō III as the Spirit of the Courtesan Yonakishii

長谷川貞信画 三代目尾上菊五郎|Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō III as the Spirit of the Courtesan Yonakishii by Hasegawa Sadanobu

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Dimensions

Vertical ōban; Image: 14 7/8 × 10 1/4 in. (37.8 × 26 cm)

Classification

Prints

Culture & Period

Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Asian Art

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, in honor of James C. Y. Watt, 2011

Accession Number

2011.141

Tags

MenActorsWomen

Art Historical Context

This striking woodblock print by Hasegawa Sadanobu created in 1841 during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868), Kabuki actor Onoe Kikorō III in the dramatic role of the Spirit of the Courtesanakishii. Rendered in vibrant ink and color on paper in the large vertical ōban formatabout 14 7/8 × 10 1/4 in.), it exemplifies ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" that celebrated fleeting pleasures like theater and beauty. Sadanobu, a of yakusha-e (actor prints), skillfully blends realism with theatrical exaggeration to portray the actor's onnagata performance—men expertly embodying female characters...

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