A woman cradles a cat against a floral purple robe

A bust portrait of a woman cradling a white-and-grey cat with an orange collar in her arms. She wears a mauve robe printed with cream blossoms and green leaves, a red-and-white checked collar, and pale blue silk patterned with white cherry blossoms at the sleeve. Her hair is dressed high with a wide crossed arrangement of yellow ornamental combs. A brushed title inscription stands at the upper left, the signature and a publisher's seal at the right.

Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753–1806) defined the ukiyo-e portrait of women. Working with the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō in the 1790s, he introduced the ōkubi-e, or large-head print, which brought the viewer close enough to read a glance or a gesture, and he gave the beauties of the Yoshiwara district individual faces and names. Mica grounds, transparent textiles and fine line work made his prints the most refined of their day. His work is held by the British Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.