Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō I

Yamamoto Yoshinobu Japanese

Not on view

This print depicts a popular Kabuki actor who specialized in female roles. Ono'e Kikugoro, dressed as a female character, sits before an alcove that is hung with a painting of him in the role of a male character. Thus, Yoshinobu uses the compositional device of a picture-within-a-picture to show two guises of the same actor, which are seemingly contemplating each other.

Kabuki Actor Onoe Kikugorō I, Yamamoto Yoshinobu (Japanese, active 1745–58), Woodblock print (beni-e); ink and color on paper, Japan

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