Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (1786-1865)
Bust portraits of five famous kabuki actors, dressed in light blue kasuri-dyed yukata gowns, equipped with towels and fans, on a hot summer night in the city of Edo. In the background, the silhouette of a long bridge (probably Ryôgoku-bashi), stands out against the nocturnal sky, populated by a multitude of merry people.
The names of the actors are from right to left: Bandô Shinsui, Ichimura Kakitsu (=Onoe Kikugorô V), Kawarasaki Shisen (= Ichikawa Danjûrô IX), Sawamura Tosshô and Nakamura Shikan IV.
Signature: Ki-ô Toyokuni ga (happy 77-year-old Toyokuni), in Toshidama cartouches
Block carver: Ôta Komakichi
Publisher: Izutsuya Shôkichi, Edo
Date: 1862, 6th month
Size: Ôban pentaptych, c. 35 x 120,7 cm (total size)
Fine impression and colours, with embossing and strongly visible woodgrain. Separate, unbacked sheets, only minimally trimmed. Each sheet with two restored wormholes. Overall fine condition.
A very rare suite of five prints. A striking composition with a particularly fine and atmospheric background scenery. Ill. in: Shindô Shigeru, Kunisada: The kabuki actor portraits, Tokyo 1993, p. 112ff and p. 147.
sold