The Actor Sawamura Sojuro III (right), in His Dressing Room in Conversation with the Actor Segawa Kikunojo III (left)
c. 1780/83
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
36 × 24.6 cm (14 3/16 × 9 11/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88321
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Japanese theater Katsukawa Shunsho's *The Actor Sawamura Sojuro III (right), in His Dressing Room in Conversation with Actor Segawa Kikunojo III (left)*, a captivating color woodblock from around 1780–83. This oban work (36 × 24.6 cm) captures a rare, intimate moment backstage: two kabuki stars—Sawamura Sojuro III, a master of male roles, and Segawa Kikunojo III, renowned for female portrayals—pausing in their ornate dressing room amid flowing robes and makeup brushes. Shunsho, a leading figure in the Katsukawa school of ukiyo-e ("pictures of the fl...