Actors Nakamura Kiyosaburō I as Onna Danshichi and Nakamura Sukegorō I as Shōbei
Torii Kiyonobu II captured a dramatic moment on a Kabuki stage that would have excited spectators as the story unfolded. Onna Danshichi, on the ground, defends herself with a water bucket as her enemy Shōbei swings a sword down on her. Kiyonobu II amplifies vicious Shōbei’s physical power with exaggerated muscles. This was a hallmark of the Torii school, a lineage of artists who specialized in designing popular actor portraits.
Howard Mansfield, New York, NY, by January 1932;
Purchased from Howard Mansfield, New York, NY, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, May 1932
Howard Mansfield (1849-1938), Seal Harbor, ME, by April 4, 1932 [1];
Purchased from Mansfield, through Langdon Warner, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1932.
NOTES:
[1] Letter from Howard Mansfield to Langdon Warner, April 4, 1932, Harvard University Pusey Library, Langdon Warner Personal Archive, HUG 4872.1010, box 12, folder 14, copy in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files. Howard Mansfield was a lawyer who collected Asian art and the prints of James Whistler. According to the Archives Directory for the History of Collecting, Frick Art Reference Library, he was a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and served as its first acting curator of Asian art prior to the appointment of the Met's first staff curator.
