A courtesan's lattice-patterned robe frames a tiny landscape

A courtesan is shown half-length, her hair dressed with combs and long pins, eyes lowered to the left. She wears a kimono patterned with an interlocking lavender lattice and chrysanthemum-like starbursts on cream, a touch of red showing at the sleeve. A small fan-shaped cartouche at upper left holds a miniature ink landscape with a lone traveler on horseback crossing hills, beside a poem cartouche. The artist's signature appears at right with a seal at lower 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.