Alexander Evgenievich Yakovlev

A.Iacovleff, Le Théatre Japonais (Kabuki), Paris, 1932, plate 32, illustrated 
A La Vielle Russie, Alexandre Iacovleff: Paintings and Drawings, New York, 1993
State Russian Museum, A Time to Gather: Russian Art from Foreign Private Collections, St. Petersburg, 2007, p 227, no 164, illustrated 

There are pinholes to the corners and to the right hand corner of the subject's hat. There is a small tear in the right hand corner and further surface scuffs in places. There is smudging and media staining throughout, particularly to the right of the stamp. There is very minor loss of pigment to the top left corner. There is a line of staining to the right hand edge of the composition approximately 28cm in length which is visible in the catalogue image. Held in a black and gold painted simple wooden frame with carving to the corners and under museum glass. Unexamined out of frame.
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Nakamura Utaemon V (1865-1940) came from a long line of famous Kabuki actors. He was an onnagata, a Kabuki actor who typically specialised in female roles. In the present work, he is portrayed as a young bride dressed for the marriage ceremony. Onnagata actors were highly regarded and Utaemon was particularly influential, eventually becoming dean of all Kabuki actors. He sought to ensure the continuity of the kabuki theatre when it became threatened by periods of Westernisation in Japan.

Western fascination with Japanese art, or Japonisme, was a phenomenon that began in the mid-19th century, but it was revived as a source of inspiration for several European Impressionist and Art Nouveau painters in the 20th century. Yakovlev's lifelong interest in the field of Japanese theatre may have been sparked by a 1915 edition of the Russian arts journal Apollon, which opened with a long article by Punin on Japanese engraving, followed by the history of Japanese acting and stylised portraits of Japanese actors by the late 18th century Japanese actor and painter, Tôshûsai Sharaku.