Portrait of Nakamura Utaemon
- Date:
- 1984
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
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.
This 1984 portrait of Nakamura Utaemon stands as a study of one of the twentieth century's most revered kabuki performers. Utaemon VI (1917–2001) dominated the onnagata tradition for decades, his portrayals of princesses, courtesans, and tragic heroines setting the standard against which all subsequent female-role specialists are measured. Kokei's portrait may depict the actor either in role or in a more personal register, but the woodblock medium — with its inherent formality and its connection to centuries of actor portraiture — elevates the image into something between documentation and homage. The print preserves a performing artist at the height of his powers.
歌舞伎
Woodblock print
1955
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
Portrait of Nakamura Utaemon was created by Tsuruya Kokei (弦屋光溪) in 1984.
Portrait of Nakamura Utaemon depicts kabuki and portraits.
