Nakamura Utaemon in a Courtesan Role
- Date:
- 1989
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Key value factors: For living or recently deceased artists, limited edition size and gallery representation drive value. Signed and numbered prints from smaller editions are most desirable.
Nakamura Utaemon appears in a courtesan role in this 1989 woodblock print, his identity as one of the twentieth century's supreme onnagata lending every gesture aristocratic refinement. The courtesan (keisei or tayu) ranks among kabuki's most visually spectacular female roles: towers of hairpins, cascading layers of brocade kimono, and the slow, swaying gait dictated by towering wooden geta transform the male actor into an image of impossible feminine elegance. Utaemon's particular genius lay in making these elaborate costumes seem natural rather than burdensome, moving within them as though the silk and lacquer were extensions of the body itself. Kokei preserves this illusion in carved wood and printed pigment.
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Nakamura Utaemon in a Courtesan Role was created by Tsuruya Kokei (弦屋光溪) in 1989.
Nakamura Utaemon in a Courtesan Role depicts kabuki and bijin-ga.
