Toyohara Kunichika, The Actor Sawamura Tosshō in the Role of Nagoya Sanza, one sheet of a polyptych, 1867
Backstage in the theater
Kunichika was passionate about kabuki theatre and could often be found at playhouses. He sketched the actors, either backstage or while they were performing.
He was so comfortable in the world of kabuki that it took little effort for him to capture each actor at the decisive part of a scene, with a characteristic expression or pose.
Toyohara Kunichika, The Actors Sawamura Tosshō in the Role of Horie Wankyū and Onoe Kakunosuke in the Role of Fan-seller ('men'uri'), right sheet of the diptych Autumn, from the series Four Seasons of Jōruri, 1862
Rich worlds
While Van Gogh was probably mainly drawn to the chromatic intensity and decorative qualities of Kunichika’s portraits of actors, the story behind what we see is often very exciting.
In the print that depicts two actors from the series Four Seasons of Jōruri, the kimonos worn by the men indicate that they are acting the parts of soup bowl seller Wankyū and a mask seller from the play Wankyū michiyuki. Wankyū squanders his entire fortune on a courtesan and is subsequently locked in a room by his family, where he goes mad.