1794
ink
paper
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
勝川春好画 三代目瀬川菊之丞・二代目市川門之助|Kabuki Actors Segawa Kikunojō III and Ichikawa Monnosuke II and Two Courtesans Celebrating the New Year is a 1794 ink by Katsukawa Shunkō, a Romanticism work, depicting Actor, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This print shows four people in bright robes. Two look like actors—one holds a fan, the other a scroll. The other two wear fancy clothes and seem to be courtesans. Tall bamboo grows behind them, and one person holds a branch with leaves. The actors’ faces are simple but expressive. Their clothes have bold patterns, like snowflakes and stripes. The background is mostly empty, letting the colors pop. Look up Katsukawa Shunkō next to see more prints like this.
Katsukawa Shunkō spent his life in Edo, where crowded theaters and teahouses buzzed around him.
See the richer artist page
