Actor Onoe Matsunosuke IV as Nozarashi Chobei, from the series Collection of Portraits by Shunsen
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Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
The twentieth-century artist Natori Shunsen brought a new degree of realism to the old tradition of Kabuki portraiture. Unlike his predecessors, whose prints advertised the latest productions and targeted theater fans, Shunsen often portrayed actors in past roles and produced and marketed his prints more deliberately as works of art. Shunsen was part of a revival movement, called shin-hanga (“new prints”), which promoted traditional methods of color woodblock printing for representation of more modern subjects and styles. The actor portrayed here was trained in Kabuki but made the transition to film, where he pioneered the ninja movie genre and became Japan’s first movie star.
Caption
Natori Shunsen Japanese, 1886–1960. Actor Onoe Matsunosuke IV as Nozarashi Chobei, from the series Collection of Portraits by Shunsen, 1925. Woodblock color print, 15 x 10 1/4 in. (38.1 x 26 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 68.35.14. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 68.35.14_IMLS_PS3.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Actor Onoe Matsunosuke IV as Nozarashi Chobei, from the series Collection of Portraits by Shunsen
Date
1925
Period
Taisho Period
Geography
Place made: Japan
Medium
Woodblock color print
Classification
Dimensions
15 x 10 1/4 in. (38.1 x 26 cm)
Signatures
Shunsen ga 春仙画
Credit Line
Carll H. de Silver Fund
Accession Number
68.35.14
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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