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Portrait of Kitagawa Utamaro

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Artist in the Global Art Registry

Kitagawa Utamaro

1753–1806 · Japanese

Born
1753 · Kawagoe
Died
1806 · Edo

415 works in the Collect24 Registry

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Kitagawa Utamaro was a Japanese artist highly regarded for his ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings. He is best known for his bijin ōkubi-e of the 1790s and also produced nature studies, including illustrated books of insects.

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Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川 歌麿; Japanese pronunciation: [ɯ.ta.ma.ɾo], c. 1753 – 31 October 1806) 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.

Biography source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

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415

Registered works

415

In museum collections

0

In gallery collections

0

In private collections

Featured works

Selected registered works by Kitagawa Utamaro

Selected from 415 works by Kitagawa Utamaro in the Collect24 Registry.

Kitagawa Utamaro, Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty

Kitagawa Utamaro

Chushingura: Act X of The Storehouse of Loyalty, late 1790s

color woodblock print

36.6 × 26.1 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-539479

Kitagawa Utamaro, Enjoying the Evening Cool Along the Sumida River

Kitagawa Utamaro

Enjoying the Evening Cool Along the Sumida River, c. 1797–98

Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

37.5 × 25.3 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-206990

Kitagawa Utamaro, Net Fishing at Night

Kitagawa Utamaro

Net Fishing at Night, c. 1800

One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

38.4 × 25.4 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-206357

Kitagawa Utamaro, Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River

Kitagawa Utamaro

Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River, c. 1800

One of a triptych of color woodblock prints

38.6 × 25.4 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-206348

Kitagawa Utamaro, Fishing at Iwaya on Enoshima

Kitagawa Utamaro

Fishing at Iwaya on Enoshima, c. 1790

triptych of color woodblock prints

37.8 × 25.2 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-205740

Kitagawa Utamaro, Scene Adapted from the play The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chushingura)

Kitagawa Utamaro

Scene Adapted from the play The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chushingura), late 1790s

color woodblock print

36.9 × 75 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-204989

Kitagawa Utamaro, Catching Fireflies

Kitagawa Utamaro

Catching Fireflies, c. 1796–97

Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

38.2 × 76.8 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-203127

Kitagawa Utamaro, Women Enjoying the Evening Cool Near Ryogoku Bridge

Kitagawa Utamaro

Women Enjoying the Evening Cool Near Ryogoku Bridge, c. mid 1790s

color woodblock print

37.5 × 24.6 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-201582

Kitagawa Utamaro, Women Enjoying the Evening Cool Near Ryogoku Bridge

Kitagawa Utamaro

Women Enjoying the Evening Cool Near Ryogoku Bridge, c. mid 1790s

color woodblock print

37.4 × 25.3 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-201056

Kitagawa Utamaro, Women Enjoying the Evening Cool Near Ryogoku Bridge

Kitagawa Utamaro

Women Enjoying the Evening Cool Near Ryogoku Bridge, c. mid 1790s

color woodblock print

37.4 × 25.3 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-201052

Kitagawa Utamaro, Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River

Kitagawa Utamaro

Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River, c. 1800

Triptych of color woodblock prints

38.6 × 25.4 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-200977

Kitagawa Utamaro, Act VII from the series The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers

Kitagawa Utamaro

Act VII from the series The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers, c. 1801–2

Color woodblock print; ink and color on paper

39.1 × 26.3 cm

Cleveland Museum of Art

C24-195969

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Where works by Kitagawa Utamaro are registered

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Artists from the same period

Japanese artists born around the same time