The Actor Bando Matataro IV as Bando Taro in the Play Gohiiki Kanjincho, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1773
c. 1773
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban; left sheet of diptych (?)
Dimensions
32.1 × 14.9 cm (12 5/8 × 5 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
31891
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Katsukawa Shunsho captured the drama of kabuki theater in this color woodblock print from around 1773. Titled *The Actor Bando Mato IV as Bando Taro in the Play Gohiki Kanjincho, at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 177*, it depicts the star performer in a dynamic pose, likely mid-performance. Shunsho, a leading figure in the uki-e tradition—"pictures of the floating world"—specialized in yakusha-e, or actor prints, that immortalized kabuki idols as celebrities of their time. This hosoban-format print, narrow at 32.1 × 14....