Yoshitoshi: Snow: Iwakura no Sogen played by Onoe Baiko (SOLD)

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) Title: Snow: Iwakura no Sogen played by Onoe Baiko Series: Snow, moon and flowers: Setsu Gekka no uchi Date: 1890/8 (Meiji 23) Onoe Baikô V (Onoe Kikugorô V, 1844-1903) in the role of Sôgen in the play Hanafubuki,. The priest Sôgen  has been expelled from his temple after falling in love with the beautiful courtesan Irokotohime. Death has claimed her, so he is left with nothing but her memory. Tales of the priest Sôgen were first adapted to the kabuki theatre in the 1670s and since then many versions were written. Sôgen/Seigen is a tragic figure who has nowhere to go after being expelled from his temple and roams the countryside in a pitiful state of starvation and longing. This a Yoshitoshi work that was done in his final years, when he was stricken with poverty and illness, yet his power of design is stronger than ever. A masterpiece of psychological intensity, Sogen’s hair has been uniquely printed with hairs that are the width of actual hairs