A young woman pauses with a lotus-patterned fan

A young woman in a black kimono, its sleeves patterned with gold clover scrollwork, pauses mid-step with both hands gripping the handle of a round fan at her chest. The fan, printed with a large pink lotus bloom, hangs below her hands. Her collar and inner robe show soft pink, and hairpins cross above her upswept coiffure. A vertical title cartouche sits in the upper left corner, with the artist's signature and seal beside it. The work belongs to a series studying women's physiognomic types.

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.