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The Actors Ichikawa Monnosuke II and Iwai Hanshirō IV and His Pupil Backstage
The Actors Ichikawa Monnosuke II and Iwai Hanshirō IV and His Pupil Backstage

The Actors Ichikawa Monnosuke II and Iwai Hanshirō IV and His Pupil Backstage

Artist/Maker (Japanese, 1726–1792)
Dateca. 1784
MediumColor woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsVertical ōban; overall: 14 5/16 × 9 13/16 in. (36.4 × 24.9 cm)
Credit LineMary A. Ainsworth Bequest
Object number1950.278
Status
Not on view
More Information
In 1780, Shunshō designed an illustrated book called Actors as Fuji in the Summer (Yakusha natsu no Fuji 役者夏の富士). Like Mt. Fuji in the summer with no snow, these were images of kabuki actors backstage with no makeup. Although still idealized representations, the sense that one could glimpse the private lives of popular actors proved irresistible to theater fans. This innovative subject was a great success, and Shunshō went on to produce full color prints of the same theme, like this one.
Exhibition History
A College Collects: Japanese Prints from Oberlin College
  • Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA (September 25, 1960 - October 15, 1960 )
  • Hollins College, Hollins, VA (November 5, 1960 - November 25, 1960 )
  • Public Library of Winston-Salem, Winston-Salem, NC (December 9, 1960 - December 29, 1960 )
  • Watkins Institute, Nashville, TN (January 12, 1961 - February 2, 1961 )
  • Port Arthur Service League, Port Arthur, TX (March 20, 1961 - April 10, 1961 )
  • University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (April 23, 1961 - May 15, 1961 )
  • Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA (October 6, 1961 - October 26, 1961 )
  • Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI (November 8, 1961 - November 29, 1961 )
  • State University of New York, Oswego, NY (January 14, 1962 - February 4, 1962 )
  • Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (March 23, 1962 - April 13, 1962 )
  • Wichita Art Museum, Wichitia, KS (September 6, 1962 - September 26, 1962 )
  • Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, AL (October 16, 1962 - November 6, 1962 )
  • University of Rochester, Rochester, NY (November 20, 1962 - December 11, 1962 )
Visions of Turmoil and Tranquility: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 17, 2005 - December 23, 2005 )
A Life in Prints: Mary A. Ainsworth and the Floating World
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 3, 2015 - June 7, 2015 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan (April 13, 2019 - May 25, 2019 )
  • Shizuoka City Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan (June 8, 2019 - July 28, 2019 )
  • Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan (August 10, 2019 - September 29, 2019 )
Collections
  • Asian
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.