Snapshots of the Past

[Portraits of actors, often playing roles] – Historic Photograph Print

[Portraits of actors, often playing roles], [between 1860 and 1866 (seal date: 1860.7)] — historic print
[Portraits of actors, often playing roles], [between 1860 and 1866 (seal date: 1860.7)]. Historic print from the Japanese Prints collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with [Portraits of actors, often playing roles], a historic print rich in period detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

[Portraits of actors, often playing roles]

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The subject here is the kabuki actor Nakamura Shikan (1831–1899), whose likeness appears across a set of twenty sheets mounted as a scroll. The portraits, made between about 1860 and 1866, show actors in their stage roles, a popular genre in Edo-period Japan, when audiences followed favorite performers as closely as today's fans follow film stars. The sheets were printed by several artists, including Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Toyokuni III) and Toyohara Kunichika, and their nishiki-e, or brocade, printing shows the layered color typical of the period.

Created / published[between 1860 and 1866 (seal date: 1860.7)]
Medium20 prints (mounted on scroll) : woodcut, color.
Genreorganized by the Library of Congress, 2001.
NotesTitle and other information based on entry in exhibition catalog. Artists include Utagawa Toyokuni (also known as Utagawa Kunisada) (sheets 8-10, 14-16, 20); Toyohara Kunichika (sheets 1, 2, 4, 5, 11-13, 17-19); and Utagawa Kuniaki (sheets 3, 6). Artist for sheet 7 not yet identified. Nishike-e (brocade) print. Ōban size. Forms part of: Japanese prints and drawings (Library of Congress). Four sheets (7, 9, 13, and 20) Published in: The Floating world of Ukiyo-e ... / essays by Sandy Kita .... New York ..., 2001, no. 109, pp. 174-75. Exhibited: The Floating world of Ukiyo-e: shadows
SubjectsShikan, Nakamura,--1831-1899. Actors--Japanese--1850-1870.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,575 × 3,660 px · prints to 15 × 12 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-222073

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