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Archive: Sadahiro II (二代目 貞廣)

Description:
(R) Arashi Tokusaburô IV as Gakujin (楽人); (C) Onoe Tamizô II as Chô no Bunin (蝶の舞人); (L) Ichikawa Udanji I as Gakujin (楽人) in Yoku minoru tami no nigiwai, Kado no Shibai, Osaka
Signature:
Sadahiro
Seals:
No artist seal
Publisher:
No seal
Date:
8/1866
Format:
(H x W)
Chûban nishiki-e
24.7 x 53.3 cm
Impression:
Excellent, deluxe edition with metallics, furikake ("sprinkling" or application of powdered metallics: 振掛)
Condition:
Excellent color, very good condition (unbacked; album creases along left edge of R and C sheets, slight glue residue and a pinhole in margin of R sheet)
Price (USD/¥):
SOLD

Inquiry: SDR04

Comments:
Background

The plot of the play Yoku minoru tami no nigiwai (能実民の賑) is unknown to us. The term read here as yoku (lit., talent or skill: 能) is also pronounced , that is, the traditional drama and dance of Japan patronized mainly by the samurai class during the Tokugawa period.

Design

This design by Sadahiro II is a fine example of late Tokugawa-period printmaking, with metallics and a transitional use of purple aniline dye before too many Osaka prints became more intensely (some say "garishly") colorful. The flamboyant costumes set against a dark gray night, with the actors posing beneath the foliage of autumn-hued maple leaves, make this a notable exception to the over-the-top-color examples of late-period printmaking.

References: WAS-6, no. 559