Two Beauties

ca. 1801–4

Not on view

Utamaro, the well-known ukiyo-e painter and printmaker, was a disciple of the Kano artist Toriyama Sekien (1712–1788). In this work, a well-dressed girl from a wealthy merchant family is contrasted with a seated woman wearing a simple cotton kimono that is open at the breast. In the Chinese-style couplet inscribed at the upper left by Ubu Kanjin, two butterflies stand in for the two beauties:

It is strange how a pair of butterflies
Come fluttering towards me, fly
away, then return.
Perhaps they wish to enter through
my gauze window.
It is as if a spring breeze is forcing
open the window
And filling the room with the spirit
of spring.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Two Beauties
Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754–1806)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: ca. 1801–4
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Image: 40 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (103.5 x 31.8 cm)
Overall with mounting: 69 11/16 x 19 1/2 in. (177 x 49.5 cm)
with ivory rollers (dia. 15/16 in.)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Object Number: 14.76.70b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Kitagawa Utamaro

In the same medium

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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

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

Girl Fishers and Bathers, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan — Girl Fishers and Bathers
Kitagawa Utamaro
1791

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