Description
Katsukawa Shunshō gives Ichikawa Danjūrō V’s Yamauba role wild pale hair and a textured, fringed garment. The actor bends into an energetic stance with a long implement extending across the body. These rough surfaces and strong diagonals make the mountain-woman identity dramatically distinct, turning the costume and movement into a forceful act of transformation.
Dated to the twelfth month of 1775, the work was printed in ink and color on paper. The role gives the portrait a different emphasis from a simple likeness: what is preserved is the act of embodiment. Shunshō’s image keeps the actor’s individuality within an assumed persona, allowing the viewer to consider both the person performing and the character made present. That double identity is the portrait’s most securely documented human subject.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Katsukawa Shunshō collection.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.