Actor Arashi Rikan II as Aburaya Yohei - Figurative Woodblock Print on Paper by Shunbaisai Hokuei

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Actor Arashi Rikan II as Aburaya Yohei - Figurative Woodblock Print on Paper

Woodblock print of kabuki actor by Shunbaisai … Read more Actor Arashi Rikan II as Aburaya Yohei - Figurative Woodblock Print on Paper

Woodblock print of kabuki actor by Shunbaisai Hokuei (Japanese, d. 1837). The actor is an oil seller, leaning against two large barrels suspended on a rod. The play "Aburauri Kuruwa Banashi" (The Story of an Oil-seller in the Pleasure Quarter) was performed at the Naka Theater in 1836.

Shunbaisai Hokuei (Japanese, d. 1837), also known as Shunkō III, was a designer of ukiyo-e style Japanese woodblock prints in Osaka, aOsaka andive from about 1824 to 1837. He was a student of Shunkōsai Hokushū. Hokuei’s prints most often portray the kabuki actor Arashi Rikan II. Working for only nine years, Hokuei nevertheless dominated the production of actor prints, especially during the years 1832-36, when he accounted for roughly 60 percent of all prints published in Osaka.

Many of Hokuei's prints were technical marvels employing advanced block-cutting and printing techniques. He often used a tension-filled dramatic approach toward much of his actor portraiture, sometimes positioning isolated figures against monochromatic backgrounds to emphasize the actors' expressions and emotional states. He experimented with unusual placements of solitary figures, which when combined with articulated gestures, postures, and facial expressions resulted in a notable body of work. Hokuei also arranged solitary figures to suggest related action beyond the confines of the single sheet, which added a sense of uncertainty and dramatic possibility that tempted the viewer to fill in the missing narrative. See less