Paul Binnie

Scottish, b. 1967

A Great Mirror of the Actors of the Heisei Period: Bando Tamasaburo as the Spirit of the Heron
(Heisei yakusha o-kagami: Tamasaburo - Sagi musume)

the onnagata (actor in a female role) wearing a white robe decorated with a dark grey mica pattern of feathers against a deep blue to white bokashi ground; the series and print title cartouches at upper left, with hand numbered limited edition cartouche, sanjuni/hyaku (32/100), signed below in kanji, Bin-ni, with red artist's seal Binnie, and date seal Heisei kyu-nen (Heisei 9 [1997]), numbered and signed in pencil on the bottom margin, 32/100 Paul Binnie, 1997

oban tate-e 16 7/8 by 12 1/4 in., 43 by 31 cm

This portrait of Bando Tamasaburo V (b. 1950) depicts the actor, famous for his skills as a dancer, in the poignant role of The Heron Maiden. The scene is near the end of the dance when the maiden suffers in hell for her frivolous youth. The stark, angular flakes in the background, sensitively printed in white, grey and purple, are the confetti used to simulate falling snow.

Reference:
Paul Binnie: A Dialogue with the Past - The First 100 Japanese Prints, 2007, p. 90, no. 49

price: Sold