Ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e is the name given to one of the most important art forms in all of Japan. Arriving as a new form of art in the 1700's these prints served as a record of daily life and pleasures in a newly wealthy Japanese society. The Japanese themselves had long regarded pleasure as transient because of their Buddhist heratige, because of this the word Ukiyo-e actually means "pictures of the floating world". These prints were truly art which reflected the whims of the masses. They record popular styles of dress, new hairstyles etc. They also record the popular Kabuki theater actors, the most beautiful geisha's (or prostitutes), and later even landscapes. Within the realm of Ukiyo-e there are many masters, but there is one master, Kitagawa Utamaro, who sticks out as one of the most incredible figure artists in Japanese prints.
While the prints themselves contain a great deal of information about their time, there is often little known about the actual printmaker. This is true with Utamaro and his exact birthplace, birthdate and even mother and fathere are unknown. We do know that he was born around 1753 . He spent his early artistic life with Seiken, who was a master of the Kano school of art. The master literally took the pupil into his house and taught him until around 1783. It was at this time that Utamaro met the publisher Tsutaya Justbaro, and made a final break with Seiken to go and work with Jusbaro. Jusbaro was a very famous publisher in Edo at the time, and had taken many struggling printmakers under his wing. It was during this time that utamaro began producing his first noteworthy works. It was apparent quite early his extreme talent for the figure. These early works of his show the influence of Kyonaga, a very...
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...dly enough begins to produce some mother and child prints although it seems as though he never had a child.
The end was coming near to Utamaro. His prints became almost mass produced for the public. He also published a few scandelous prints in which he portrayed a famous and revered general with his concubines. He was imprisioned for three days for this and was forced to have his hands bound for fifty days. By 1806 Utamaro had little left, and he died.
Utamaro's prints are some of the most important and beautiful examples of Japanese prints. His work remains today an inspiration for those within the world of Edo and those outside of it.
Bibliography
1. Hiller, J. Utamaro, Phaidon Publishers, Greenwhich Conn. 1961
2. Michener, James A. Japanese Prints: From the Early Masters to the Modern, Charles E
Tuttle Co. Rutland Vermont and Tokyo, Japan
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