The Actor Ichikawa Ebizo III as Matsuomaru in the play <em>Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy</em>
date: label: Date
content: 18th century
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Katsukawa Shunko 勝川春好 (1743-1812)
notes: label: Label
content: The kabuki play Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy (Sugawara denju tenarai kagami) relates the story of Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), a courtier and calligrapher who died in exile due to maneuvers by his enemies at court. Here the actor Ichikawa Ebizo III (formerly Ichikawa Danjuro IV, 1712-1778) plays Matsuomaru, a samurai attendant to Fujiwara no Tokijira (871-909), one of the courtiers who plotted against Michizane. With his features fixed in a menacing stare, the actor strikes a pose in a scene of confrontation. The actor wears a courtier's hat and carries a tall umbrella covered with a white case.
label: Provenance
content: To 1898
label: Provenance
content: Edward S. Hull Jr., New York to 1898 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1898 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Edward S. Hull Jr. in 1898 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 186, pg. 41, as well as Voucher No. 38, November 1898, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Edward S. Hull Jr. was Ernest Francisco Fenollosa’s (1853-1908) lawyer. Hull often acted as an agent, facilitating purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa, as well as purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa's
label: Provenance
content: well-known associate, Bunshichi Kobayashi (see correspondence, Hull to Freer, 1898-1900, as well as invoices from E.S. Hull Jr., 1898-1900, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives). See also, Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pgs. 15 and 34. See further, Thomas Lawton and Linda Merrill, Freer: A Legacy of Art, (Washington, DC and New York: Freer Gallery of Art and H. N. Abrams, 1993), pgs. 133-134.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art from the Collection (October 26, 2024 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Paintings and Prints (December 8, 2002 to May 26, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Theatre in the Edo Period (July 22, 1985 to October 15, 1985)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Prints (December 1, 1978 to April 12, 1979)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art, Galleries 3, 4, and 5 (January 1, 1963 to September 16, 1970)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ukiyo-e Exhibition (August 7, 1961 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Art, 1955 (October 25, 1955 to November 22, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Art (October 3, 1947 to February 25, 1956)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Edward S. Hull Jr. (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: lacquer
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: theater
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: actor
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: kakemono
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1898.423
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Color, lacquer black, and slight gold on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 58.7 x 26.8 cm (23 1/8 x 10 9/16 in)