Utamaro: Portraits from the Floating World
by Tadashi Kobayashi
List Price:
Our Price: $15.87
You Save: $9.13 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $9.82 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Tadashi KobayashiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-03-06
ISBN: 4770027303
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Kodansha USA
Book Reviews of Utamaro: Portraits from the Floating World
Book Review: A good basic introduction
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good beginner's book about Utamaro. The text is brief and easy to follow and a selection of the most well known prints are illustrated so it's a good starter guide if you're encountering Utamaro for the first time and just want a basic introduction.
Summary of Utamaro: Portraits from the Floating World
Who was the man behind the pseudonym "Utamaro"? We know that he was one of the greatest artists of eighteenth-century Japan, and that he was a master portraitist of women in the woodblock-print tradition known as ukiyo-e. But as for the man himself, we know almost nothing. The little there is-gleaned from contemporary books, miscellaneous writings, temple registers-is brought together in this book to present as clear a picture of Utamaro's life as modem researchers are capable of. Utamaro is placed in his cultural setting-the pleasure-loving urban culture of eighteenth-century Tokyo, the shogun's capital and the de facto center of JapanUtamaro's world was that of teahouse girls and courtesans whose fame and popularity can only be compared, in modern terms, to those of a movie actress whose name is on every man's lips. His was a world of popular literature and art, of publishers competing for the work of the most talked-about writers and artists. This world, however, was under the constant scrutiny of the authorities, and near the end of his career, Utamaro fell afoul of the government's proscription of certain subject matter, and he was sentenced to three days in prison and fifty days in hand chains.
But Utamaro's life is only one theme of this book. The other is the development of his art, the perfection of his depictions of women that enabled him to capture subtle moods and differences of character. The prints of women produced by the ukiyo-e artists preceding Utamaro showed expressionless beauties of little individuality. It was against this that Utamaro rebelled, creating such prints as that of the kashi, one of the lowest ranking of courtesans-in fact, a mere prostitute. Recognizing within himself the power to see and depict the individual behind the outward appearance, Utamaro added to some of his prints the notation "Studies in Physiognomic Judgment of Character by Utamaro." Modem opinion tends to agree with Utamaro's assessment of himself, and his reputation as an artist of the inner woman has firmly established him in the top ranks of the ukiyo-e world.
Artists, A-Z Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Artists, A-Z Books
Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintingsby Gary Schwartz
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1991-11-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $48.50
Life with Lowryby Tilly Marshall
Hutchinson; Published: 1981-02-16; Hardcover; Book
Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Lifeby Richard Meryman
Harper; Published: 1996-10-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.90
Price in other shops:
Georg Baselitz: Paintings 1964-67 [exhibition: May 1-31, 1985]by Georg Baselitz
Anthony d'Offay Gallery; Paperback; Book
Florence and Its Beauty: A Practical Guidebook to the Town and Its Monuments with 350 Illustrations and a Plan of the Principal Places of Interestby Sandra Orienti
G. Ramella - Florence, Italy; Published: 1956; Unknown Binding; Book
Lord of the Rings Sketchbookby Alan Lee
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2008-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Picassoby Patrick O'Brian
Harvill; Published: 1994; Paperback; Book
The Art of Adventureby Galen Rowell
Collins Pub San Francisco; Published: 1989-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.92
Price in other shops:
Calder JewelryOther Distribution; Published: 2007-12-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $349.99
POPism: The Warhol Sixtiesby Andy Warhol, Pat Hackett
Mariner Books; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.27
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Treasury of Flower Designs for Artists, Embroiderers and Craftsmen (Dover Pictorial Archive)by Susan Gaber
Dover Publications; Published: 1981-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.83
Price in other shops:
One Hundred Aspects of the Moon: Japanese Woodblock Prints by Yoshitoshiby Tamara Tjardes
Museum of New Mexico Press; Published: 2003-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.03
Price in other shops:
Dream Spectres: Extreme Ukiyo-e: Sex, Blood & the Supernaturalby Jack Hunter
Shinbaku Books; Published: 2010-04-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.65
Price in other shops:
Ukiyo-Eby Gian Carlo Calza
Phaidon Press; Published: 2007-06-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $36.47
Price in other shops:
Printed to Perfection: Twentieth Century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller CollectionHotei Publishing; Published: 2005-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.78
Price in other shops:
Poem of the Pillow and Other Stories By Utamaro, Hokusai, Kuniyoshi, and Other Artists of the Floating Worldby Gian Carlo Calza
Phaidon Press; Published: 2010-09-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $30.73
Price in other shops:
Masterpieces of Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-e from the Victoria and Albert Museumby Rupert Faulkner
Kodansha USA; Published: 1999-05-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Ukiyo-e: An Introduction to Japanese Woodblock Printsby Tadashi Kobayashi
Kodansha USA; Published: 1997-08-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.06
Price in other shops:
Shunga: Japanese Erotic Art (Traditional Patterns)by Monta Hayakawa
PIE Books; Published: 2010-04-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $69.95
Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Images in Japan 1700-1820 - Second Editionby Timon Screech
Reaktion Books; Published: 2009-11-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.89
Price in other shops: