Open daily. Always free.
The Actor "Maruya", from the series Figures of Actors on Stage

The Actor "Maruya", from the series Figures of Actors on Stage

On View

Not currently on view

Utagawa Toyokuni

In this design, the actor Otani Hiroji III is shown in the role of Tosa no Matabei from the kabuki drama The Courtesan and the Three Umbrellas. The print is the first of five from an unusual grouping of numbered prints in this series that show five actors in different roles from the same scene. The story follows the heated feud between the Fuwa and Nagoya families and includes murder and a love triangle. Tosa no Matabei is the servant to the heroic lead role of Nagoya Sanza. Toyokuni kept the general format of full-length figures against a neutral background throughout the series. A flat printing of color focused attention on the actors themselves. Hiroji is rendered in a costume with a loosely fitting kimono that exposes his bare chest, knee covers, a single sword, and bare feet that were befitting for his role as a samurai’s male servant. The crest for the Otani kabuki family, an enclosed cross in a circle, is clearly displayed on this left shoulder.
Artist
Utagawa Toyokuni
(Japanese, 1769 - 1825)
Title
The Actor "Maruya", from the series Figures of Actors on Stage
Date
7/1794
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
375 x 252 mm Overall
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.3147
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

By 1925, purchased in Japan by Frank Lloyd Wright; ca. 1926, acquired by The Bank of Wisconsin; 1928, sold to Edward Burr Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 1943, passed through inheritance to Edward’s son, John H. Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 9 January 1980, bequeathed by John H. Van Vleck to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 89, no. 46
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "The Edward Burr Van Vleck Collection of Japanese Prints." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1990. p. 325

  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900 : Chazen Museum of Art, 3/21/2008–6/15/2008
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008

The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Name*