Detail View: The AMICA Library: A Beauty of the South
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AMICA ID:
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MIA_.74.1.145
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AMICA Library Year:
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2000
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Object Type:
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Prints
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Creator Name:
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Utamaro, Kitagawa
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Creator Nationality:
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Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese
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Creator Role:
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artist
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Creator Dates/Places:
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1754 - 1806
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Kitagawa Utamaro
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Title:
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A Beauty of the South
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View:
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Front
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Creation Date:
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about 1793
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Creation Start Date:
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1791
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Creation End Date:
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1795
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Materials and Techniques:
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color woodblock print
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Dimensions:
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H.14-3/4 x W.9-3/4 in.
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Measurement Unit:
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in
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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Owner Location:
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Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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ID Number:
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74.1.145
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Credit Line:
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Bequest of Richard P. Gale
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Rights:
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Context:
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The art of ukiyo-e reached its zenith in the 1790's because of the work of several extraordinary artists, among them the designer of this print, Kitagawa Utamaro. One of Utamaro's innovations was the dramatic okubi-e, literally "large head pictures," featuring close-up portraits of beautiful women. This print is from a series entitled Nangoku bijin awase, or "Beauties of the South" showing famously attractive women from Shinagawa, southwest of Tokyo. The woman's fan depicts a scene of Shinagawa Bay. The background in this print owes its delicate shimmering quality to mica, a reflective metal oxide. Mica was finely ground, mixed with adhesive, and then applied to the paper, often with a stencil and brush. Occasionally the mica was colored with the addition of pigment to create a pink or gray background, but here the mica was left white. Mica backgrounds were popular from around 1793. They were later replaced with printed gray backgrounds because the mica surface tended to scratch or crack easily. |
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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MIA_.5127c.tif
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