Utagawa Kunisada

[Memorial print for actor Seki Sanjûrô] n.d.
colour woodblock print
Collection of Cressida Campbell

Cressida Campbell:

I bought this print in Tokyo the first time I went to Japan in 1985 to study the traditional Japanese woodblock printing technique. Kunisada often depicted actors, and men dressed as women acting in plays, however I think this man looks like a scholar.

I love the black table and the trail of smoke. I have included this image in quite a few of my works as it adds a quiet, stylish mood to a background of an interior or a still life.