The Actors Sanogawa Ichimatsu I and Segawa Kikunojo I as lovers under an umbrella
c. 1740s
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban, benizuri-e
Dimensions
42.6 × 29.9 cm (16 3/4 × 11 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19746
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo Japan (modern-day Tokyo), Ishikawa Toyobu's *The Actors Sanogawa Ichatsu I and Segawaunojo I as Lovers an Umbrella* (c. 1740s) captures the theatrical glamour of kabuki. This color woodblock print depicts two celebrated onnagata—male actors specializing in female roles—embracing intimately beneath a shared umbrella, evoking a from a romantic play. Toyonobu, a ukiyo-e artist and pupil of Nishimura Shigen, excelled in yakusha-e (actor prints), blending dynamic poses with expressive faces to immortalize stars like Sanogawa Ichimatsu I and Segawa Kikunojo I...
About the Artist
Ishikawa Toyonobu · 1711–1785
Japanese, 1711–1785