1835
ink
paper
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
春梅斎北英画 二代目嵐璃寛 『当世化粧鏡』|Kabuki Actor Arashi Rikan II as Akogi Heiji, from the print series Tōsei keshōkagami (Makeup Mirrors of Our Time) is a 1835 ink by Shunbaisai Hokuei 春梅斎北英, a Romanticism work, depicting Actor, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This print shows a Kabuki actor in a close-up, dramatic pose. His face is painted white with bold black lines, and his hair is styled high. He wears a blue robe with a woven pattern, a red sleeve, and a straw fan in one hand while holding a fan-like object above his head. The background is a dark, diagonal cross-hatched pattern with a light blue circle framing his face. The actor’s makeup and costume are very detailed, showing off the art of Kabuki performance. The print was made as part of a series about makeup styles in the 1800s. Next, look up actor to see how Kabuki performers used makeup and costumes to tell stories.
Hokuei spent his life in Osaka, a busy port city where art and theater mixed like ink in water.
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