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Bathtime (Gyōzui)

ca. 1801
Not on view
Utamaro often took his inspiration from the lives of common people, and he treated the theme of mother and child with more poignancy than did most artists. In Woman Washing a Baby in a Tub he depicted a mother performing a daily task that centers directly around her child. The rather large woman hunches over ungracefully as she bathes her son. In one hand the child holds a toy water bucket, which both echoes the activity in the tub and instructs him in the rituals of bathing; with the other hand he grabs his mother's arm in an effort to push her away. To enhance the visual excitement, Utamaro crops the bucket, the woman's leg, and the child's kimono. Prints such as these were the inspiration for the first series of prints made by the Impressionist artist Mary Cassatt.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 行水
  • Title: Bathtime (Gyōzui)
  • Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754–1806)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1801
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: 14 11/16 x 9 7/8 in. (37.3 x 25.1 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
  • Object Number: JP1661
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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“Preparing Food for the Warbler,” from the album Men’s Stamping Dance (Otoko dōka, uguisu no esa suri) , Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Page from a woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper, Japan

“Preparing Food for the Warbler,” from the album Men’s Stamping Dance (Otoko dōka, uguisu no esa suri)

Kitagawa Utamaro
1798
The Lady Tomimoto Toyohina Reading a Letter, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
The Lady Tomimoto Toyohina Reading a Letter
Kitagawa Utamaro
1790
Women Preparing Sashimi, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
Women Preparing Sashimi
Kitagawa Utamaro
1806–20
Sankatsu and Hanshichi, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
Sankatsu and Hanshichi
Kitagawa Utamaro
ca. 1800
In the Kitchen, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Right-hand sheet of a diptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan
In the Kitchen
Kitagawa Utamaro
ca. 1794–95

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