Artwork
勝川春好画 四代目岩井半四郎|Kabuki Actor Iwai Hanshirō IV
勝川春好画 四代目岩井半四郎|Kabuki Actor Iwai Hanshirō IV is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Katsukawa Shunkō. It dates from 1778 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This woodblock print, created around 1778, depicts a figure identified as Kabuki actor Iwai Hanshirō IV.
About this work
Overview
This woodblock print, created around 1778, depicts a figure identified as Kabuki actor Iwai Hanshirō IV. The work is attributed to Katsukawa Shunkō and is executed in ink and color on paper.
Subject & Meaning
The print shows a woman standing before a wooden wall, wearing a black kimono adorned with pink flowers and a circular emblem on the chest. Her hair is styled in an updo with chopsticks, and she holds the edge of her kimono with her right hand.
Technique & Style
The image is a nishiki-e, a type of multicolored woodblock print characteristic of Japanese ukiyo-e art. The use of ink and color on paper showcases the technical skill of the artist and the medium.
Artist & collection
Artist
Katsukawa Shunkō spent his life in Edo, where crowded theaters and teahouses buzzed around him.
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勝川春好画 三代目澤村宗十郎 三代目佐野川市松 |Kabuki Actors Sawamura Sōjūrō III and Sanogawa Ichimatsu III in "A Courtesan’s Mirror for the Eastern Provinces" (Keisei Azuma kagami)
勝川春好画 三代目瀬川菊之丞・二代目市川門之助|Kabuki Actors Segawa Kikunojō III and Ichikawa Monnosuke II and Two Courtesans Celebrating the New Year
勝川春好画 三代目瀬川菊之丞|Kabuki Actor Segawa Kikunojō III in a Woman’s Role
勝川春好画 七代目片岡仁左衛門 五代目市川團十郎|Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Danjūrō V
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