Onoe Matsusuke I as Ebisu, from The Stand-In Seven Gods of Good Fortune

1780

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Onoe Matsusuke I as Ebisu, from The Stand-In Seven Gods of Good Fortune is a 1780 by Katsukawa Shunshō, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Katsukawa Shunshō
When & what style?: 1780 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a Kabuki actor, Onoe Matsusuke I, dressed as Ebisu, standing beneath curtains at the entrance to a business. The actor's inner robe has wave imagery, which is a nod to Ebisu being the god of fishermen. This print is part of a set where famous actors stand in for the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. To learn more about this style of art, check out the subject: japan, edo period (1615–1868).

The story of this work

Overview

This print is from a group in which famous Kabuki theater actors who never performed together stand in for the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. Images of the Seven Gods symbolize hope for fortune in the coming year, and the set may have been made for the New Year of 1780. Here, Onoe Matsusuke I poses beneath curtains at the entrance to a place of business. They read, “House of Ebisu.” Ebisu is the god of fishermen, which may account for the wave imagery on the actor’s inner robe.

Read the full account in the museum source.