2-739-753 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Sanjo Kantaro as a Young Woman Standing in a Wisteria Arbor, c. early or mid 1730s. This rare, hand-coloured print incorporates a technique called urushi-e, literally "lacquer picture," in which the artist paints deer glue over areas of black pigment, producing a lustrous effect reminiscent of lacquer. Metal filings were sometimes sprinkled onto the pigment for decorative effect. Kiyonobu’s prints are characteristically hand-coloured and outlined in black. Inspired by a family tradition of painters of Kabuki posters, Kiyonobu created prints mainly of actors and scenes from plays.