Artwork preview

Silhouette Image of Kabuki Actor

Utagawa Kuniteru

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image depicts a woodblock print featuring three dark gray silhouettes of a kabuki actor's head and shoulders. The silhouettes are set against a background resembling beige and gray shoji screens. The top silhouette is circular, showing the actor in profile facing right with a pipe in his mouth. The bottom silhouette is irregularly shaped, with the actor looking right with his hair styled in an updo. The middle silhouette is a hexagon with rounded sides, featuring the actor facing right with his hair styled differently. The silhouettes have red seals or stamps on them. The background includes vertical and horizontal lines. There are also several lines of Japanese text written vertically along the left edge, accompanied by a red banner with Japanese text in the upper right corner. The overall design suggests a traditional Japanese art piece by Utagawa Kuniteru, titled "Silhouette Image of Kabuki Actor".

Artwork Details

Date
19th century
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Culture
Japan
Dimensions
442 × 624 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette