Kitagawa Utamaro

Japanese, 1753-1806

Kitagawa Utamaro was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his bijin ōkubi-e "large-headed pictures of beautiful women" of the 1790s. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects.

Little is known of Utamaro's life. His work began to appear in the 1770s, and he rose to prominence in the early 1790s with his portraits of beauties with exaggerated, elongated features. He produced over 2000 known prints and was one of the few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime. In 1804 he was arrested and manacled for fifty days for making illegal prints depicting the 16th-century military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and died two years later.

Utamaro's work reached Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, where it was very popular, enjoying particular acclaim in France. He influenced the European Impressionists, particularly with his use of partial views and his emphasis on light and shade, which they imitated. The reference to the "Japanese influence" among these artists often refers to the work of Utamaro.

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Ten physiognomic types of women, Coquettish type

Ten physiognomic types of women, Coquettish type

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Settsu Province from the series Fashionable Six Jewel Rivers (Furyu Mu Tamagawa)

Settsu Province from the series Fashionable Six Jewel Rivers (Furyu Mu Tamagawa) (c. 1804)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Musashi, Omi, Yamashiro, and Settsu Provinces from the series Fashionable Six Jewel Rivers (Furyu Mu Tamagawa)

Musashi, Omi, Yamashiro, and Settsu Provinces from the series Fashionable Six Jewel Rivers (Furyu Mu Tamagawa) (c. 1804)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River

Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River (c. 1800)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Women Hanging Laundry to Dry on a Balcony

Women Hanging Laundry to Dry on a Balcony (early 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Kiyomizu Komachi from the series Little Seedlings: Seven Komachi

Kiyomizu Komachi from the series Little Seedlings: Seven Komachi (c. 1900-1916)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Courtesan Dreaming of a Marriage Procession

Courtesan Dreaming of a Marriage Procession (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Two Women by a Bamboo Blind

Two Women by a Bamboo Blind (c. 1797 or 1798)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Women by a Palanquin (from the series Chinese and Japanese Poems by Seven Year Old Girls of Recent Times)

Women by a Palanquin (from the series Chinese and Japanese Poems by Seven Year Old Girls of Recent Times) (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Mother Lifting a Child to a Plum Tree (from the series Chinese and Japanese Poems by Seven Year Old Girls of Recent Times)

Mother Lifting a Child to a Plum Tree (from the series Chinese and Japanese Poems by Seven Year Old Girls of Recent Times) (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Fond of Things from the series Eight Views of Favorite Things of Today’s World

Fond of Things from the series Eight Views of Favorite Things of Today’s World (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Tomimoto Toyohina, Takashimaya Ohisa, and Naniwaya Okita

Tomimoto Toyohina, Takashimaya Ohisa, and Naniwaya Okita (c. 1794)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Moonrise Over the Nihon Embankment and the Yoshiwara

Moonrise Over the Nihon Embankment and the Yoshiwara (1790)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Winter Scene from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Winter Scene from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (c. 1790)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act IV of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act IV of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act VI of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act VI of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act III of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act III of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Mother Teaching her Daughter Calligraphy, from the series, Twelve Occupations of Women

Mother Teaching her Daughter Calligraphy, from the series, Twelve Occupations of Women (c. 1798)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Procession at the Foot of Mount Fuji

Procession at the Foot of Mount Fuji (1792 or 1793)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

The Courtesan Karauta of Chojiya Reading a Book (from the series Six Authors of the Green Houses)

The Courtesan Karauta of Chojiya Reading a Book (from the series Six Authors of the Green Houses) (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Woman Measuring a Man’s Gown (from the series Twelve Occupations of Women)

Woman Measuring a Man’s Gown (from the series Twelve Occupations of Women) (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

The Hour of the Snake (from the series A Clock for Young Women)

The Hour of the Snake (from the series A Clock for Young Women) (c. 1796)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Fond of Noise from the series Eight Views of Favorite Things of Today’s World

Fond of Noise from the series Eight Views of Favorite Things of Today’s World (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Oshichi and Kichisaburo (from the series Music on the Theme of Constancy in Love)

Oshichi and Kichisaburo (from the series Music on the Theme of Constancy in Love) (c. 1800)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act I of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act I of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act V of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act V of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act VIII of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act VIII of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act IX of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act IX of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

Chushingura: Act XI of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Chushingura: Act XI of The Storehouse of Loyalty (late 1790s)

Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, 1753-1806)

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