Ichikawa Danshiro II as Henmei Tesshinai 1919

Yamamura Toyonari’s portrait captures Ichikawa Danshiro II as Henmei Tesshinai with bold, flat colours. It looks like it may have been made with woodblock prints, carefully carved and layered. I imagine the artist, Toyonari, contemplating the actor’s stage presence, distilling it into a few key shapes and colours. Think about the creamy white of the face, contrasted with the solid, matte black of the hair and clothing. What does it mean to flatten a face like that? It’s like an emoji of a face. The actor’s gaze is intense, fixed on some unseen point. Toyonari emphasizes the drama of Kabuki with stark lines and minimal shading. It reminds me how artists borrow from one another across time and culture. Toyonari's work seems to speak to the power of simplicity. Can you imagine the work that goes into making something appear so effortlessly simple? It’s like a painter figuring out what they can leave out, instead of adding more and more.