Biography

Ukiyo-e artist. Became a disciple of Japanese-style painter Sekien Toriyama. From around 1775, he began to devote his time to creating multicolored prints. Early in his career, he depicted illustrations for such formats as a book of joruri drama and kibyoshi (picture book for adults). In 1788, he gained recognition for “Picture Book of Selected Insects” that portrayed insects and flowers with delicate brushstrokes. Around 1792, his first bijin okubi-e (large-headed beauty) portraits were published by Juzaburo Tsutaya. Utamaro applied the method of okubi-e, which was originally used in actor prints to depict close-up images above the breast, to beauty prints. He gained explosive popularity for this style that could express women’s inner feelings through their lively expressions, or else through showing subtle nuances in their hands and fingers.