Memorial Portrait of Ichikawa Danjūrō VI
Utagawa Kunimasa
Description
Subject Matter:
Utagawa Kunimasa was an apprentice and student of Utagawa Toyokuni in Edo. The actor depicted is Ichikawa Danjūrō VI, a member of the Ichikawa lineage. He died suddenly at the age of 22.
“Death portraits” or “memorial portraits” of actors would often be published after especially popular actors died, and they often depicted the actor in a role for which he had been famous as well as poems and his posthumus name. Memorial portraits for Ichikawa Danjūrō VI are among the earliest examples of these types of prints. This print shows Danjūrō praying at a waterfall and a fan with a poem written on it laying on the ground in front of him.
Physical Description:
Inscriptions: Publisher's seal: (Harimaya Shinshichi); Artist's signature: Kunimasa ga; Ichikawa Danjūrō kyōnen nijūni sai
In this portrait, a man kneels before a waterfall with his hands clasped in front of him. He is well dressed and wearing a sword at his side. A fan with writing on it lays in front of him. Several lines of Japanese are written above him.
Usage Rights:
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