PROPERTY FROM THE SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS, SOLD TO SUPPORT ART ACQUISITIONS AND COLLECTIONS CARE

TOSHUSAI SHARAKU (ACT. 1794-95)

The actor Arashi Ryuzo II as the Moneylender Ishibe Kinkichi

Details

TOSHUSAI SHARAKU (ACT. 1794-95)
The actor Arashi Ryuzo II as the Moneylender Ishibe Kinkichi
Woodblock print with silver mica ground, signed Toshusai Sharaku ga, published by Tsutaya Juzaburo (Koshodo), 5th month 1794
Vertical oban: 14 3/8 x 9 ¼ in. (36.5 x 23.5 cm.)

Provenance

Raymond A. Bidwell (1876-1954), Springfield, Massachusetts

Exhibited

“Ukiyo-e from The Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA”, exh. cat. p. 54, no. 92, exhibited at the following venues:
Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo, 4 June-3 July, 1994
Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, 16 July-21 August, 1994
Yokkaichi Municipal Museum, Mie Prefecture, 1 September-4 October, 1994

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Takaaki Murakami (村上高明) Vice President, Specialist and Head of Department | Korean Art

tmurakami@christies.com +1 212 636 2160

Lot Essay

The subject of ongoing debate; neither the true name, nor the dates of birth and death of the artist Toshusai Sharaku are known. This elusive artist's active career under this name spanned a mere ten months and his dynamic portraits of actors were imbued with a realism unusual at the time. However, his work has come to be considered some of the most important of the entire ukiyo-e genre.
The play Hana-ayame Bunroku Soga was a popular vendetta play in which the Soga brothers set out to avenge their father's murder. This print shows the actor Arashi Ryuzo playing the role of the mean-spirited money lender Ishibe Kinkichi, his face with intense expression.
Another impression in the collection of The British Museum (1909,0618,0.47).

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