- Japanese Prints

- Yakusha-e kabuki actor portray

- By Japanese artist Toyohara Kunichika

- Printed in London on textured natural white paper 180 gsm

- White border of roughly 1 cm

- Size A3 (297 mm x 420mm / 11,7 x 16,5 inch.)

DESCRIPTION:

This Japanese woodblock print was made by Toyohara Kunichika, a master of ukiyo-e prints who was infatuated with the extravagance and drama of the kabuki theater.

His deep appreciation and knowledge of the kabuki theater led him to master a type of woodblock prints called Yakusha-e, which are kabuki actor portrays and scenes from the most popular plays of the time.

Kabuki means the art of song and dance, but the over the top costumes, make up, lighting and props makes kabuki an incredible visual spectacle.

Kunichika was wildly criticized for his use of deep colours, like reds and purples, in his kabuki prints, however, this had a great influence in mid 19th century modern art.

In this portrait we can see a kabuki actor wearing a voluminous floral costume, and a blue and ochre headpiece.

Kabuki is believed to have originated in 1603 when both men and women could perform kabuki theater, however, women were banned from kabuki theater in 1629 and so both male and female roles have been performed only by male actors ever since.

Discover our full Japanese print collection.

DIMENSIONS:

Paper Size: A3 (297 mm x 420mm / 11,7 x 16,5 inch.)

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