Kitagawa Utamaro — Crackers, Special Feature of the Shop | Japanese Woodblock Print (Ukiyo-e)

A bust portrait of a woman reading a printed handbill held in both hands, its orange-red text advertising a shop’s crackers. She wears a brown kimono patterned with cream squares and pine-needle sprigs over a grey underlayer stamped with small pale flowers, a black-and-cream lattice band at the collar. Gold hairpins cross at the crown of her high coiffure, with a further sheaf of pins at the temple. The background is a plain pale mint green.

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.