Movie Actor Hayashi Chōjirō as Yukinojō 1935

Natori Shunsen made this print of Movie Actor Hayashi Chōjirō as Yukinojō with ink and color on paper, but it's the layering of color that really grabs me. It's like seeing a world built up one careful step at a time. The surface has this incredible flatness, but within that, there's so much happening. Look closely at the kimono, how the blues and purples melt into each other, almost like watercolor, yet it’s a print! Then there's the face, pale and smooth, framed by the dark, solid forms of the hair and headdress. It's a real study in contrasts, but also in harmony, the textures and tones working together. Notice how the curve of the actor's cheek is echoed in the fan he's holding. It’s a small detail, but it pulls the whole image together. It makes me think of Utamaro, another printmaker who knew how to capture the subtle beauty of the everyday. But Shunsen has a more modern sensibility. Like all great art, it invites you to look, and then look again.