二代目嵐龍藏・三代目瀬川菊之丞|Kabuki Actors Arashi Ryūzō II and Segawa Kikunojō III
ca. 1790
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
11 3/8 x 5 5/16 in. (28.9 x 13.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
Accession Number
JP341
Tags
Art Historical Context
This woodblock print by Katsukawa Shunkō portrays two celebrated kabuki actors of the late eighteenth century: Arashi Ryūzō II and Segawa Kikunojō III. Created around 1790 during Japan’s Edo period, the image belongs to the genre of yakusha-e, or actor portraits, which captured the charisma of stage performers for an enthusiastic public. Shunkō, a leading artist of the Katsukawa school, specialized in such works, using expressive lines and subtle color to convey the distinctive features and personalities of his subjects. The medium itself—woodblock printing with ink and color on paper—allowed...
About the Artist
Katsukawa Shunkō
Katsukawa Shunkō I (1743–1812) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who pioneered the ōkubi-e (large-head) portrait format in kabuki actor prints and served as possibly the first student of Katsukawa Shunshō, the founder of the influential Katsukawa school. Born in 1743, Shunkō spent his entire life in Edo (modern Tokyo), working as both a painter and ukiyo-e printmaker specializing in yakusha-e (actor p...