The Actors Sanogawa Ichimatsu (right), Nakamura Kiyosaburo (center right), Sanogawa Senzo (center left), and Nakamura Kumetaro (left)
c. 1750
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban, benizuri-e
Dimensions
29.9 × 43.2 cm (11 3/4 × 17 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19759
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 18th-century Japanese theater with Ishikawa Toyonobu's *The Actors Sanogawa Ichatsu (right), Nakamuraosaburo (center), Sanogawa Sen (center left), and Nakamura Kumetaro (left, a captivating color woodblock print from around 1750. Toyonobu, a prominent ukiyo-e artist the Edo period, masterfully captures four Kabuki stars in dynamic poses, their elaborate costumes and expressive faces frozen in a moment of performance. This oban-sized print (29.9 × 43.2 cm) exemplifies the "floating world" genre, celebrating the glamour of actors who were cultural icons in Japan's ...
About the Artist
Ishikawa Toyonobu · 1711–1785
Japanese, 1711–1785