Utagawa Toyokuni - Yamatoya, Actor Iwai Hanshiro IV as Kikusui, 1794

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This vertical woodblock print is a full-length portrait of the Japanese actor Iwai Hanshiro IV in costume. The four colors of the print include black, red, light brown, and teal. The background is black on the upper third, and fades out to a light grayish brown for the bottom two-thirds. The mostly vertical wood grain is evident in the lighter portion of the background. The male actor, in a female role, is light-skinned and tall, with simply drawn facial features. He wears a jet black, hooded cape over a flowing, light brown robe with intricate designs on the bottom, a black print border, and a teal lining. His arms are wrapped in a red-print shawl and he crosses his arms, in beige sleeves, in an X-shape at his chest. In the top corner to our right is a thin vertical banner with Japanese characters. On the center right is the artist’s signature. 

Utagawa Toyokuni (Tokyo, 1769 - 1825, Tokyo)

Yamatoya, Actor Iwai Hanshiro IV as Kikusui in the play “Matsuwa Misao Onna Kusunoki,” from the series Portraits of Actors on Stage (Yakusha butai no sugata-e), 1794

Woodblock print in four colors with karazuri on paper, 38.5 x 25.5 cm (15 3/16 x 10 1/16 in.)

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Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.