山本義信画 初代目尾上菊五郎|Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō I

Yamamoto Yoshinobu

ca. 1750 · Woodblock print (beni-e); ink and color on paper · Asian Art

This print depicts a popular Kabuki actor who specialized in female roles. Ono'e Kikugoro, dressed as a female character, sits before an alcove that is hung with a painting of him in the role of a male character. Thus, Yoshinobu uses the compositional device of a picture-within-a-picture to show two guises of the same actor, which are seemingly contemplating each other.

Artist

Yamamoto Yoshinobu

Date

ca. 1750

Medium

Woodblock print (beni-e); ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Henry L. Phillips Collection, Bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939