Ichikawa Ebizo III - Katsukawa Shun-ei ca. 1800

A full length portrait of the actor Ichikawa Ebizo III in character.

Katsukawa Shun-ei (ca. 1762 - 1819) was an ukiyo-e painter, print artist and illustrator. A leading pupil of Shunsho, Shun-ei adds a modern touch to the Katsukawa School as well as a pronounced element of facial exaggeration which enhances the individuality and dramatic force of his actor prints, but which, in lessor hands, was to lead to the decline of figure work in the nineteenth century. Sharaku and most of all Toyokuni were among those influenced by Shun-ei's style. He was eccentric in behavior but had a wide circle of friends, among them Shuncho, Utamaro and Toyokuni with each of whom he sometimes collaborated on prints.