Bidspirit auction | Color woodblock print by Utagawa

Color woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Scene: Kataoka Gado II as Gofukuya Jubei - Color woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Scene: Kataoka Gado II as Gofukuya Jubei Japan, Edo period, 1853. Color woodblock print on Washi (Japanese paper). Dimensions: 23.7 × 36.2 cm. The sheet is loose. Signed lower right. Publisher. Condition: Slightly browned, wormholes upper right. Interesting Kabuki scene with Kataoka Gado II as Jubei, who runs a Gofukuya, a shop for silk fabrics and kimonos. Here he takes a break under a pine tree during a journey. In one hand he holds a pipe, in the other a tobacco container and a pipe case, while he looks over his shoulder with a worried expression. Behind him, a worker carries a yoke with a wooden box on which two hats lie. In the distance, Mount Fuji rises. An appealing design with an attractive scenery. Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), also Toyokuni III, was a student of Utagawa Toyokuni. He is the most prolific artist in Japanese art, creating more than 40,000 works, including prints, books, and paintings. He devoted himself to all genres, but particularly excelled in his prints on Kabuki theater, in which he revealed extraordinary inventiveness.