Takanawa in de winter 1862

Utagawa Kunisada created this woodblock print titled ‘Takanawa in Winter’ which now resides in the Rijksmuseum. The print presents a Kabuki actor set against a backdrop of Takanawa Bay, framed by a fan shape, which offers us two distinct visual planes. Structurally, the composition divides into foreground and background. The actor, rendered with precise lines and patterns on his robe, occupies the foreground. His intense gaze directs us towards the tranquil winter scene, depicted in softer hues. The fan shape, which acts as a window, does not merely frame the landscape. It invites a reading of layered perspectives – the actor’s world versus the serene landscape, the artifice of the stage versus the natural world. Kunisada employs a formal device that plays with semiotic codes of the time. The actor's gesture of shielding his eyes might symbolize introspection. The serene winter landscape, visible through the fan, hints at the ephemeral beauty of nature. The structure of the artwork presents a juxtaposition of worlds, prompting a meditation on perception, representation, and reality.