Yakusha sanjūrokkasen : zen / Kōchōrō Utagawa Kunisada ga
This is a Japanese woodblock print album of kabuki actor portraits by Utagawa Kunisada, published in Edo in 1835 by Nakamuraya Katsugorō and Nishimuraya Yohachi for a popular audience of theatre fans. Each double-page spread pairs a bold, close-up actor portrait with a handwritten poem in the margin, in a restrained black-and-grey palette. A designer could take the strong graphic contrast of patterned kimono, the tight cropping, and the calligraphic verse panels as a model for layout and pattern work.
