- 38
TOSHUSAI SHARAKU (ACTIVE 1794-1795)PORTRAIT OF THE ACTOR SEGAWA KIKUNOJO III AS OSHIZU, FROM THE PLAY HANA-AYAME BUNROKU SOGA |
Estimate
180,000 - 250,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- 38 x 25.5 cm, 15 x 10 in.
woodblock print, signed Toshusai Sharaku ga, published by Tsutaya Juzaburo, 5th month, 1794
Provenance
Bremen Museum, sold Walpole Galleries, 10th November 1922, Lot 61. William Keane, Evanston, III
Louis Ledoux (see below)
Louis Ledoux (see below)
Catalogue Note
The play Hana-ayame Bunroku Soga, in which Segawa Kikunojo III performed, was staged at the Miyako theatre in May 1794. Segawa Kikunojo III (1751-1810) was the most popular player of female roles of his day. The print is considered one of Sharaku’s most celebrated portraits. Jūzō Suzuki (1) comments that in this print Sharaku is able to capture the grace and femininity that Kikunojo expressed in his performances and adds that “the print is a masterpiece to be numbered among the best of Sharaku’s half-length portraits of onnagata”.
Louis Ledoux was born in New York City in 1880. He was a scholar, poet, collector of Japanese prints and President of the Japanese Society. He wrote several books on prints including Sharaku's Japanese Theater Prints (2). For further information on his collection see Jenkins (3).
There are only twenty-four known surviving impressions of which fifteen are held in the following museums and institutions: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; (Accession number 21.7248) Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass; Art Institute, Chicago (Accession number 1794-95); The Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art, Genoa; British Museum, London (Accession number 1909,0618,0.40); Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde, Munich; Brooklyn Museum, New York; National Library, Paris; Guimet Museum, Paris; Museum of Art, Philadelphia (Accession number 1967-30-209) Naradowe Museum, Prague; National Museum, Tokyo; Nihon Kikin, Tokyo; Osterreichisches Museum fur angewandte Kunst, Vienna; Kiraki Museum, Yokohama
1. Jūzō Suzuki, Sharaku Vol. 2 (Tokyo, 1968), p.34
2. Harold G. Henderson, Sharaku's Japanese Theater Prints, An Illustrate Guide to his Complete Work, (New York, 1984)
3. Donald Jenkins, The Ledoux Heritage: The Collection of Ukiyo-e Master Prints, (New York, 1973)
Louis Ledoux was born in New York City in 1880. He was a scholar, poet, collector of Japanese prints and President of the Japanese Society. He wrote several books on prints including Sharaku's Japanese Theater Prints (2). For further information on his collection see Jenkins (3).
There are only twenty-four known surviving impressions of which fifteen are held in the following museums and institutions: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; (Accession number 21.7248) Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass; Art Institute, Chicago (Accession number 1794-95); The Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art, Genoa; British Museum, London (Accession number 1909,0618,0.40); Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde, Munich; Brooklyn Museum, New York; National Library, Paris; Guimet Museum, Paris; Museum of Art, Philadelphia (Accession number 1967-30-209) Naradowe Museum, Prague; National Museum, Tokyo; Nihon Kikin, Tokyo; Osterreichisches Museum fur angewandte Kunst, Vienna; Kiraki Museum, Yokohama
1. Jūzō Suzuki, Sharaku Vol. 2 (Tokyo, 1968), p.34
2. Harold G. Henderson, Sharaku's Japanese Theater Prints, An Illustrate Guide to his Complete Work, (New York, 1984)
3. Donald Jenkins, The Ledoux Heritage: The Collection of Ukiyo-e Master Prints, (New York, 1973)