Japanese prints have become sought after and desirable art objects, yet when they were painted they were little more than mass-produced ephemera, sold for next to nothing in huge numbers to a working-class public. Hundreds of artists and craftsmen made their living supplying popular demand for such works. Yet amazingly, despite the rapidity with which they were published, early Japanese woodblock prints are paintstaking works of craftsmanship that required three highly skilled workers to produce; the artist to devise the design, the woodcutter to cut the printing blocks, and the printer to bring the concept to fruition. Finally, a very necessary fourth person was needed, the moneyman- the publisher. The style that the great Japanese printmakers worked in is called Ukiyo-e, which translates as "a picture of the floating world." The floating world was a world of leisure and the pursuit of pleasure. Early Ukiyo-e works celebrated contemporary city life and city panaramas; then in the second half of the 17th century kabuki theater and mass entertainments such as circuses and acrobats became very popular. The daily goings on of the merchant class started to be shown - the fashions of the ladies and the pastimes of the men.
Many Japanese print enthusiasts consider Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) to be the preeminent printmaker - not least for his prolife output and variety of subjects during his active period of work, 1775-1806. He was also one of the first Japanese artists to be known and collected by Europeans. He numbered many Impressionists among his admirers and Toulouse-Lautrec was a particular fan of his work.
He came from Musashi province and moved to Edo (modern day Tokyo) after his father's death in 1775. In the big city he joined the studio of Sekien, who was known for his townscapes. It is possible that master and pupil were related, at any rate he stayed there for seven years. At first Utamaro illustrated poems and plays until he progressed to depicting the actors themselves.
In 1780 he was invited to join the house of the important publisher Tsutaya Juzaburo, whose residence was a well-known meeting place for artists and poets.
In 1782 the situation was formalized when Utamaro accepted a permanent contract from Juzaburo: he also changed his name to become Utamaro. In 1788 he produced Insects which was revoluntionary as a color print in naturalistic style. Utamaro became prominent in the 1790's, by which time his style was fully developed and his work was the most sought-after of all the ukiyo-e artists.
Utamaro is noted for his brilliant compositions, his refined color sense and his mastery of a variety of printing techniques. But above all he is known for the delicate, feminine eroticism of his portrayal of beautiful women. His gift for catching character and mood. His principle subjects were the fashionable ladies of Yoshiwara and in particular the famous courtesans. These erotic pictures of fabulous women were widely collected in his lifetime and were even quietly exported to China and Europe where they found a small but enthusiastic audience.
Utamaro used bright, fresh colors, often lavishly embellished with gold dust or powdered mother of pearl. His backgrounds were often covered with sparkling mica dust. Utamaro produced many sketches and studies of natural history-seashells, fish, flowers, plants, birds, animals, and landscapes. Not many subjects escaped his scrutiny: popular stories, mythology, and Japanese legends as well as genre scenes, all proved successful. Towards the end of his life the quality of his work suffered as he tried to produce even more paintings - over production. Due to his popularity there were many contemporary forgeries, none of which were as good as his work, but Utamaro's reputation suffered as a consequence.
In 1804 Utamaro went a step too far for the authorities' liking with a tryptich of satirical scenes which were suspected to allude to goings on at the shogun's court. The censor was instructed to detain him and Utamaro spent 50 days in handcuffs under house arrest. According to some sources, the experience crushed him emotionally and ended his career as an artist.
He died two years later, on the 20th day of the 9th month, 1806, aged about fifty-three, in Edo.
