Kunisada: Onoe Baiko as a Female Ghost Rising from a Swamp (Sold)

Artist: Utagawa Kunisada 
Title: Onoe Baiko as a Female Ghost  古今未曽有工夫の幽霊 尾上梅幸
Series: Famous Ghosts of the Past and Present (Kokon misou kufu no yurei)
Date: 1838

Onoe Baiko III (Kikugoro III) as an eerie female ghost clutching a baby. It is a challenge to identify the character, but this might be the ghost of the wife of Kohada Koheiji in the play Eiri otogi zoshi. Koheiji was murdered in a swamp by his wife’s lover, so perhaps that explains the setting. Koheiji’s wife was later mysteriously killed by her husband’s ghost. The ghost rises from a swamp at night, rain pelting all around, her spectral figure seemingly originating from the depths. Rising up next to her is an eerie flame that has been printed with lead pigment. She looks back over her shoulder, her long hair cascading down her back and around her face. This actor was renowned for his skill at portraying ghosts. A scarce design.

Condition: Very good impression. Good color and good/very good condition. Unbacked and untrimmed. Minor surface wrinkles.
Dimensions: ôban (37.7 x 26.2 cm)
Literature: See Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam online. See the UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Hammer Museum (Purchased from the Frank Lloyd Wright Collection).
Signature: Gototei Kunisada ga

SKU: KUC031S