Kitagawa UtamaroJapanese, 1754–1806Woman Holding a Tortoise-shell Hair-comb
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Art Institute of Chicago
Room184Chicago, United States
On public display.
- Checked
- 4 hours ago
- In this state since
- Sep 28, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1925.3068
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
Meanwhile, in the life of Kitagawa Utamaro
The whole life1790–1801
Tightening censorship: seals on prints
From 1790 prints can be sold only with a censor's seal of approval; over the following decades censorship grows stricter, and violators can receive harsh punishments. From 1799 even preliminary drafts need approval, and in 1801 the works of a group of Utagawa-school offenders, including Toyokuni, are repressed.
1793
Recognition and the end of the arrangement with Tsutaya
In 1793 Utamaro achieves recognition as an artist, and his semi-exclusive arrangement with the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō ends. He then goes on to produce several well-known series featuring women of the Yoshiwara district, and becomes one of the few ukiyo-e artists to win fame throughout Japan in his lifetime.
1797
The death of his friend and patron Tsutaya Jūzaburō
In 1797 Utamaro's long-time friend and supporter, the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō, dies; the artist is apparently very upset by the loss, and some commentators feel that his work never reached its former heights afterwards. He later lives in Kyūemon-chō, then Bakuro-chō, and finally near the Benkei Bridge.
