The Lovers Oshichi and Kichisaburo
Original title: The Lovers Oshichi and Kichisaburo
kurzbeschreibung
A colour woodblock print by Kitagawa Utamaro from around 1800, showing two figures in Japanese dress standing close together and turned toward one another in a quiet moment. The subject comes from Kabuki theatre and its celebrated lovers Oshichi and Kichisaburo. The sheet was printed with ink and colour on paper.
Description
On the left stands a figure in a dark robe with a red collar and hair tied up high; on the right, a second figure wears a lighter robe patterned in red and white. Traditional hairstyles and headwear frame finely drawn faces touched with delicate colour. A plain cream ground provides the setting, and characters with a block of text appear at the upper right. Muted tones dominate, with red and blue supplying accents; the light falls evenly and casts hardly any shadow.
Context
The print dates from the late Edo period, when Japanese woodblock printing was at its height. Oshichi and Kichisaburo belong to a well-known Kabuki play, which in turn goes back to a real event in the seventeenth century. Utamaro was known for his beauties and actors, and he often put the expressions and gestures of his figures to the fore.
Impact
The eye moves first across the two faces, held in calm proximity to one another, then lingers on the patterns of the robes. Crisp contours and subdued colouring create a quiet, intimate mood that makes the sheet at once elegant and restrained.
Technique
For the colour woodblock print, the outlines were cut and the areas of colour usually laid down flat, while fine gradations appear in the faces. Ink and colour reached the paper in several passes, each tone transferred from its own block.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)