Utamaro: Elements of Beauty

Idealized but also nuanced, Kitagawa Utamaro's portrayals of women were groundbreaking. While his subject—beautiful women—had been a mainstay in ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) from its beginning, Utamaro invested his subjects with a fresh vibrancy, experimenting with dramatic close-ups that hint at the women's complex inner lives. Utamaro began his meteoric rise in 1780, when as a young artist, he began working with the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō. The pair collaborated for more than a decade, during which time Utamaro developed his characteristic rendering of feminine beauty. He portrayed courtesans and geisha as well as ordinary women, but it was the women of the Yoshiwara, the famous pleasure district in Edo (present-day Tokyo), who particularly inspired his designs. These works showcase the period's elaborate fashions in hairstyles and clothing, including the diaphanous fabrics and multiple layers of garments worn. In addition, his work focused on the hidden worlds of courtesans and the everyday lives of women at work or at home. Utamaro also illustrated a number of extraordinary printed books, many of which are considered the pinnacle of woodblock printing. This exhibition brings together more than 40 of Utamaro's most celebrated designs, all drawn from the Art Institute's collection.