The artist is 'Shunko 春好', who had formerly been known as 'Shunko-sai Tokushu'. At one point, he was a disciple of Hokusai.

He was primarily active in the Osaka area and created many Yakusha-e 役者絵, portraits of Kabuki actors. This image depicts a Kabuki actor, although the name of the performance is not certain.

The purple cloth on his forehead is called Murasaki no nuno, which translates directly to "purple cloth." It was originally used to cover the hairline because the quality of wigs was not good in the old days, but in later years became the 'mark' to signify that the actor was performing a female role - an 'onnagata'.