Natori Shunsen 名取春仙: Ichikawa Ennosuke II as the Villain Ikuda Kakudayû (SOLD)
Artist: Natori Shunsen 名取春仙
Title: Ichikawa Ennosuke II as the Villain Ikuda Kakudayû
Series: Collection of Portraits by Shunsen: Sosaku hanga Shunsen Nigao-e Shu Date: 1927
Actor Ichikawa Ennosuke II in the role of the villain Ikuta Kakudayu in the play Tôyama seidan, performed at the Shôchiku-za, Asakusa, Tokyo in 1926. The actor was captured on film in a photograph in this pose in the magazine Engeki shashin-cho in 1926, so Shunsen likely used that photograph as the basis for this design. The artist's signature and seal (Kajichô) are at the upper right near the annotation that gives the date (Shôwa ninen shunyô saku, "Made in the spring of the second year of Shôwa").
The jet black eyebrows and the fixed stare, combined with the weapon clenched in his fist give us an idea of the intensity of the actor’s portrayal, which was said to have caused a sensation. The back background also seems to intensify the character’s dark intentions.
This series was lavishly produced in a limited edition of 150 impressions that Watanabe sold by subscription only. The 1930 Toledo Museum of Art exhibition included Shunsen as one of only ten shin hanga artists in its groundbreaking show.
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Never framed, although the margins have been brightened up by a restorer.
Dimensions: 39.2 x 27.4 cm Sealed: Artist’s seal Kajicho in red and artist’s approval seal Natori, lower right Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: Lawrence Smith, The Japanese Print Since 1900: Old Dreams and New Visions, 1983, p. 73, cat. no. 49; Yamaguchi Keizoro, Natori Shunsen Exhibition Catalogue, Kushigata, 1991, p. 41, no. 30; Lawrence Smith, Modern Japanese Prints 1912-1989, 1994, cat. no. 43, pl. 42; Kozo Yamada, Shunsen Natori: Collection of the Kushigata Shunsen Museum of Art, 2002, p. 30, cat. no. 22; Lucie Folan et. al., Stars of the Tokyo Stage: Natori Shunsen's Kabuki Actor Prints, National Gallery of Australia, 2012, pp. 96-97; Carolyn M. Putney, Fresh Impressions: Early Modern Japanese Prints, Toledo Museum of Art, 2013, p. 193, cat. no. 155. See Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The British Museum, Honolulu Museum of Art, Smithsonian, National Museum of Asian Art, Muller Collection, Waseda University.
SKU: SNS022