A woman stirs the coals of a brazier beside a bamboo screen

A woman in a loose purple robe over a pale striped kimono kneels forward beside a folding screen painted with bamboo, a white band in her hair, and stirs glowing charcoal with metal chopsticks in a round ceramic brazier banded in black with swastika motifs and lion-head ring handles. A copper kettle rests on a black stand in front, a written sheet lies on the floor, and a cloth with a red tassel hangs over the screen. A small framed picture and a poem sit at the upper right beside Utamaro's signature.

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.