Konishi Hirosada (ca 1810 - 1864) Portrait of Ichikawa Ebizo V, 1848. Deluxe Chuban.
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This fine Hirosada print is a portrait of the actor Ichikawa Ebizo V. The appalling censorship that nearly destroyed the Osaka print school in the 1840’s means that identification of actors, roles and performances is sometimes nearly impossible.
The design, as usual with Hirosada, manages to be both subtle and robust. The face is a delicate mask of self doubt and determination, the clothing an almost wholly abstract assemblage of dipping and diving rectangles - surely a clue to the inner turmoil of the character whose face rises above the chaos like a rock above a violent sea.
The print is exquisitely coloured - one's attention drawn to the bright yellow hat - elsewhere there are highlights of bronze and mica powder. The colour, condition and impresssion are all very fine.
18cm x 25cm.
