Kitagawa Utamaro was a Japanese color-print artist and the son of a painter from the Kano school. His prints were among the first to become familiar in the Occident, as the were especially popular among the Dutch exporters of Nagasaki. Having first followed the traditions of the classic Kano school by painting in the Chinese manner, Utamaro was early lead to color-print designing by the great vogue for the work of Kiyonaga. He is noted not only for his landscapes but also for his pictures of insects and his portraits of women. HIs draughtmenship and use of color (especially reds and blacks) show the mastery and striking originality that made him the first of the greater masters of the popular school (ukiyoye). The New York Public Library has a collection of 130 of his prints.
Bibliography:
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2nd edition, c. 1960.
