Open full image Pin

三代目坂田半五郎|Kabuki Actor Sakata Hangorō III as an Outlaw

Katsukawa Shun'ei 勝川春英

1791

ink

paper

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Romanticism 18th Century Actor

Dominant colour

三代目坂田半五郎|Kabuki Actor Sakata Hangorō III as an Outlaw is a 1791 ink by Katsukawa Shun'ei 勝川春英, a Romanticism work, depicting Actor, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Katsukawa Shun'ei 勝川春英
When & what style?: 1791 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Metropolitan Museum of Art

About this work

This print shows a shirtless man bending over, holding a long sword in one hand and a short one in the other. His back is wrapped in a patterned cloth, and he looks tense. Behind him, a wooden fence and a few trees fill the background, with a bird perched on top. The man’s face is painted in bold, exaggerated style—common for actors in this era. His muscles are flexed, and the colors are bright but flat, like a poster. Look up Katsukawa Shun'ei to see how he painted other actors this way.