Adam's Fine Asian Art Preview 23 November 2021

112 TAKESHI KITANO 北野武 (JAPAN, BORN IN 1947) A RARE OBAN TATE-E / WOODBLOCK PRINT WITH MICA POWDER BACKGROUND This woodblock print dates back to the Heisei period and pays tribute to T ō sh ū sai Sharaku (active from 1794 to 1795), with the kabuki portrait of actor Ō tani Oniji III, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861), with the 1844 triptych “Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Invoked by Princess Takiyasha”. It has been designed and issued for the Kitano TV show at only 50 copies. The original creation appears in the “Hani-bi” film in 1997. Very rare woodblock designed for the Kita- no TV show at only 50 copies. Takeshi Kitano pays tribute to T ō sh ū sai Sharaku (active from 1794 to 1795) with the kabuki portrait of actor Ō tani Oniji III and Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861) with the 1844 triptych “Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Invoked by Princess Takiyasha”. €2,000 - 4,000 NOTES: 1. For the two prints from which that one is inspired, please see an exemplar of the one by Sharaku pre- served at the Metropolitan Museum of New York (The MET), The United States of America, under accession number JP2822, and an exemplar of the one by Kuniy- oshi preserved at the British Museum under accession number 1915,0823,0.915-916. 2. An identical print has been exhibited at The Cartier Foundation, Paris, France, as part of the exhibition “Beat Takeshi Kitano, Gosse de peintre”, which took place from 2010/03/11 to 2010/09/12. 3. Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan. He is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor. Fig. 1 & 2 - The print by Sharaku (left) and the print by Kuniyoshi (right) from which our print by Kitano is inspired. Fig. 3 - Takeshi Kitano