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Kabuki Actor Iwai Kumesaburo as Yokogawa

Kabuki Actor Iwai Kumesaburo as Yokogawa

Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I (Japanese, 1769 - 1825)

Date: late 18th - early 19th Century
Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions:
Framed: 20 3/4 x 16 3/4 x 1 5/8 in. (52.7 x 42.5 x 4.1 cm)
Sheet: 14 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (36.8 x 24.8 cm)
Credit Line:Gift, Mr. Ferdinand Thun
Framed through the Adopt-A-Painting Program by Yuasa Battery, Inc.
Object number: 1939.366.1

Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825) was born in Edo, the son of Kurohashi Gorobei, a carver of dolls and puppets, including replicas of kabuki actors.  He became a pupil of Toyoharu, the first head of the Utagawa School, at about the age of 14. Toyokuni mastered, then synthesized his master’s styles, eventually creating a style of his own.  He was known mostly for his prints related to the kabuki theatre, in particular his actor-portraits.

Toyokuni set himself apart from other woodblock artists by portraying actors realistically, and without the commonly used technique of exaggeration. This made Toyokuni's prints extremely popular among theater-goers. His popularity grew from 1803 through 1817 however as his work became more static it lost some of its appeal to the public.

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