Memorial Portrait of the Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV 1852

Curator: Hello, and welcome. I hope our time with this arresting portrait of Nakamura Utaemon IV will stir something within you, as it does me. Editor: I'm excited to dive in. This is "Memorial Portrait of the Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV," a woodblock print from 1852. The actor's dramatic pose immediately grabs your attention, and it almost feels like a scene from a play. I’m curious, what's your take on this captivating portrait? Curator: Captivating indeed! Beyond the actor's theatrical air, which, you know, is absolutely electric, there's a profound sense of loss woven into it. It's a memorial print, you see, created after his death, almost like whispering secrets of what made him such an Icon of the Stage, almost like a final act on the most special stage of all! Tell me, what sense do you make of the symbols surrounding him? Editor: I see birds overhead, text along the side, and he's holding some sort of scroll. What could those birds represent? Curator: They aren't just birds, but crows – Messengers perhaps of the next life. And that scroll? Might not hold words, but the entire Legacy that Nakamura created. Think of it: ukiyo-e prints were affordable, accessible, and meant to be cherished, almost a shared memory. Isn't that moving? Editor: It really is. Thinking of this print as a shared memory… I hadn't considered that before. Now I'm thinking of it in a whole new way. Curator: Ah, there's magic isn't it? Now think to how *you* shall one day be portrayed… What essence of you can be captured and passed through eons for other starstruck faces like ours. Editor: Well, now that’s really got me thinking! Thanks for your perspective.