Series; Picture Book of Kabuki Actors on Fans (Ehon butai ogi)
Picture Book of Kabuki Actors on Fans - Terrific kabuki actor portrait from a collaborative three volume work titled "Picture Book of Kabuki Actors on Fans," featuring designs by Shunsho and Buncho. Originally published in 1770, these marvelous woodblocks capture the intense expressions and elaborate costumes and makeup of actors in popular kabuki roles, with an interesting compositional technique of a fan-shaped border in most of the prints. Considered a masterwork of Japanese actor prints, these portraits were part of a new trend in creating actor images with individualized features and expressive faces that more closely resembled the real actor, rather than the idealized portraits the predominated the genre earlier.
1917 Yoshikawa Kobunkan Reprints - Beautifully carved and printed, these handsome reprints come from a 1917 edition published by Yoshikawa Kobunkan of Tokyo, and faithfully reproduce the soft colors and fine detail of the originals. Original prints from this series are nearly improssible to find, so these fine quality reprints offer a nice opportunity to collect a classic ukiyo-e kabuki subject.
Woodblock reprints - In the 20th century, artists and publishers collaborated to recreate famous woodblock prints for interested Japanese collectors and Westerners looking for rare designs. New blocks were made, and the prints were painstakingly printed by artisan printers in the same method as the 19th century originals - one block for each color. Woodblock reprints were an opportunity to collect and enjoy a famous design at a small fraction of the price of an original. They still are today.
Artist - Shunsho (1726 - 1792)
Image Size - 9 1/2" x 5 7/8" + margins as shown
Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown.
