Memorial Portrait of the Actor Onoe Kikugoro III
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Classification
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
23810
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 19th-century Japanese ukiyo-e prints, Utagawa Kunis I (also known as Toyokuni) created this striking *Memorial Portrait of the Actor Onoe Kikugoro* in 1849. As a master of the Utagawa school, Kunisada specialized in yakusha-e—portraits of Kabuki actors—that captured the theatrical glamour of Edo-period Japan. Thisan-sized color woodblock print, housed in the Art Institute of's Arts of Asia department honors Onoe Kikugoro III, a celebrated onnagata (female role specialist) whose expressive performances enthralled audiences. The print exemplifies the technical brilliance...
About the Artist
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III) · 1786–1864
Utagawa Kunisada I, also known as Toyokuni III (1786–1865), was born Sumida Shōgorō in the Honjo district of Edo (modern Tokyo) into a family that operated a hereditary ferry-boat service, providing stability after his father's early death. Displaying prodigious talent in drawing from childhood, he became an apprentice to the master Utagawa Toyokuni I around 1801 at age fifteen, entering the prest...