Kunichika: Portrait of Kunisada (Toyokuni III) at the Age of Seventy-Eight 豊国の揮毫に艶色を競ふ (SOLD)

Artist: Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900)Title:  Portrait of Kunisada (Toyokuni III) at the Age of Seventy-Eight 豊国の揮毫に艶色を競ふ Series: Tosei mitate sanju-rokkasen 當盛見立 三十六花撰 (Contemporary Kabuki Actors Likened to Thirty-Six Flowers (Immortals of Poetry)) Date: 1863, 4th month Portrait of Kunisada, the artist who designed this series of prints in the final years of his illustrious career. It is also the frontispiece for the series, and we see the listing of the prints in the form of an opened book, above, surrounded by a variety of flower sprigs. Kunichika has drawn an excellent likeness of the venerable Kunisada at the age of seventy-eight– this portrait indicates how highly Kunichika was regarded by his teacher to have been given this honor. Kunisada  is finely attired, and he looks very alert and ready to paint, brush held conspicuously in his hand. His head is completely shaven, as was customary for men of a certain age in the Edo period. Kunisada’s outer robe is quite sumptuous; it incl