Description
Katsukawa Shunshō’s Drama of Hikeyahike Kanhiki Dōjōji presents a theatrical subject in the extended format of a triptych. Three actors occupy the horizontal ensemble, with dark and pale garments flanking an ornate central female role in a black floral robe and tall gold-colored headwear. The room’s grid and decoration connect their positions, making the wider scene a meeting of distinct stage presences.
Dated to the third month of 1780, the woodblock composition uses ink and color on paper. Shunshō gives a passing dramatic appearance a form that can be looked at with greater leisure. The work’s appeal lies in that sustained relationship between individual elements and the larger scene. Its original breadth matters to the encounter, preserving the idea of an ensemble rather than reducing the subject to a single isolated actor.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Katsukawa Shunshō collection.
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