Minneapolis Institute of Art
Actors among the Garden Oaks
Shōkōsai Hanbei
- Date
- c. 1799
- Medium
- Ink and color with gold leaf and powder pigments
- Department
- Asian Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
A man, with a crazed look in his eyes, raises a scythe as if to strike. His hair flies around his face, whipped up by the wind that carries snow flurries. The illustration, one of 32 included in this book, is a portrait of the actor Sawamura Sōjūrō III (1753-1801), a kabuki actor who stood on the Osaka kabuki theater stage. This book is filled with portraits of thirty-two kabuki actors who were active in the late eighteenth century. Each illustration is delicately and lavishly painted with ample color as well as gold and silver pigments. He used unusual painting techniques as well, such as blowing shell white to create the effect of snow, as seen in this scene. The painter, Shōkōsai Hanbei, was known for his prints and illustrated books about the Osaka theater and marketed to their fans. A handpainted book like this one may have been commissioned by patrons who wanted images of their idols. Japan, Asia
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