Jul 18th 2024

Kabuki-Actor Portraits by Tōshūsai Sharaku

@ The Art Institute of Chicago

111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603

Opening Thursday, July 18th, at 12PM delete

On view through Monday, October 14th

Between the summer of 1794 and early spring of 1795, an artist using the name Tōshūsai Sharaku produced around 150 prints representing Kabuki actors: a prolific display of innovation in a mere ten months.

Such prints were popular mementos for fans of the stage—serving as a very marketable type of image at the time—and most of Sharaku’s works featured unusual characters with exaggerated, almost comic expressions and awkward poses. His extensive output stopped suddenly, perhaps because his style’s popularity could not be sustained. Today, his identity remains debated in Japanese print scholarship.

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