The First Ichikawa Komazo as a Man Standing beside a Building
1770 or 1771
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
12 5/16 x 5 13/16 in. (31.3 x 14.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1918
Accession Number
JP563
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan with *The First Ichikawa Komazo a Man Standing beside a*, a captivating woodblock print by Iitsusai Bunchō, created around 1770–1771. This intimate yakusha-e (actor portrait) captures the renowned kabuki performer Ichikawa Komazō in a poised, everyday pose beside an architectural structure, embodying the theatrical flair of ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating." Bunchō, a master of this genre, skillfully rendered the actor's dynamic presence in ink and color on paper, measuring just 12 5/16 x 5 13/16 inches—perfect for personal collections among...
About the Artist
Ippitsusai Bunchō · 1730–1820
Ippitsusai Bunchō (active c. 1765–1792) stands as one of the pivotal figures in the development of ukiyo-e actor portraiture, a artist whose innovations fundamentally transformed how kabuki actors were depicted in Japanese woodblock prints. Working during what scholars often call the 'golden age of ukiyo-e,' Bunchō, along with his contemporary Katsukawa Shunshō, revolutionized the yakusha-e (actor...