Hymn to Beauty: the art of Utamaro
Venue: Art Gallery of NSW, The Domain, Sydney
Dates: 13 February – 2 May 2010
Cost: Adult $8, conc. $5, family $20
Website: artgallery.nsw.gov.au
Master of the Floating World
Much like European impressionism, the Japanese art of the ukiyo-e (floating world) period enjoys considerable and ongoing popularity. One of the key artists of that period, Kitagawa Utamaro (1753?–1806) – one of the most well-known Japanese artists in the Western world – is the subject of a new exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW opening this month.
Hymn
to Beauty: the art of Utamaro will, for the first time in Australia,
feature over 80 prints from the collection of the Asian Art Museum, National
Museums in Berlin.
Utamaro revolutionised the way women were portrayed in Japanese visual art. Compositions of ill-fated lovers, lovers in moments of despair and mothers doting on their sons were among his favourites, along with many erotic depictions of men and women, so subtle they escaped censorship at the time.
Trained in the orthodox painting style of the Kano school,
Utamaro was soon discovered by Tsutaya Jûzaburô, an influential
and astute ukiyo-e publisher. Under Tsutaya's guidance, Utamaro rose quickly,
achieving his first critical acclaim and commercial success with vibrant
illustrations for sumptuously printed poetry anthologies and erotic books
in the late 1780s. When this type of publication was censored in the early
1790s, Tsutaya and Utamaro shifted their activity to the profitable genre
of ‘pictures of beautiful women’ (bijinga). The close-up view
enabled him to capture a fleeting facial expression and mood and imbue
his subjects with a psychological depth.
Kitagawa Utamaro, ‘Hanao-gi in Act 4’ from the set The Chu-shingura
drama parodied by famous beauties: a set of twelve prints c1796 (detail)
Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin
About one third of the 2000 authenticated designs by Utamaro deal with subjects related to the Yoshiwara, the licensed pleasure quarters of Edo (today’s Tokyo), including numerous portraits of its courtesans, their teenage attendants and child servants. Presented as icons of beauty and fashion trendsetters, these alluring images acted as advertisements for the women, for the establishments with which they were affiliated, and ultimately also for the artist. By acquiring these prints, the public, most of whom could hardly ever afford the company of such ‘stars’, could indulge in the illusion of being part of this exclusive world.
As well as the female inhabitants of the pleasure quarters, Utamaro portrayed women from all walks of life. In his images, diligent housewives doing daily chores or female workers of various trades were instilled with a poise and understated eroticism that matched the courtesans of the Yoshiwara. His depictions of mothers doting on their little sons and pairs of star-crossed lovers from literature and theatre are among the finest in Japanese art. Like no other artist, Utamaro understood how to visualise passion and physical intimacy between the sexes without transgressing censorship laws.
By
the mid 1790s, ‘Utamaro’ was the most sought-after brand name
for sensuous, passionate and technically outstanding images of beautiful
women. His style set the standard for the works of his contemporaries
and followers such as Eishi, Eishô, Eisui, Eiryû, Chôki
and Banki, who are also presented in this exhibition.
The exhibition’s title takes its inspiration from the poem of the same name by Charles Baudelaire. Baudelaire’s adoration of beauty might well find resonance with viewers of Utamaro's images of beautiful women.
exhibitions, the Art Gallery of NSW has stolen the march on some of its rivals by announcing a jam-packed 2010 line-up.
It's an impressive array, with its centrepiece the blockbuster Paths to Abstraction show over the winter months. Around that however are displays of everything from student work to classical Japanese prints; and from iconic American photography to terracotta warriors.
Kitagawa Utamaro (1753?–1806), 'The white surcoat', from the series New patterns of brocade woven in Utamaro style c1796–98; ôban, colour woodblock print; Asian Art Museum, National Museums in Berlin; inv no 6100-01.342. Photography: Jürgen Liepe
The gallery's tentpole exhibition, as has been the case for many years now, will be the annual Archibald Prize (with its satellite Sulman and Wynne Prizes) in March. This show always garners considerable media attention and not a little controversy, and there's no reason to expect 2010 will be any exception.
The first major exhibition to open in 2010 will be Hymn to Beauty: The Art of Utamaro (13 February – 2 May). Featuring over 80 colour woodblock prints from the collection of the Museum of Asian Art, Berlin, Germany, this exhibition showcases the passionate art of Kitagawa Utamaro (1753?–1806). Famous already during his lifetime for his insightful, sensual representations of ‘beautiful women’, bijin, Utamaro turned his attention not only to the protagonists of the pleasure quarters – the icons of beauty and fashion and objects of desire – but also on the wives, daughters, mothers, lovers, workers and so on, whose grace and femininity could render the most trite domestic scene a delightful sight. In addition to Utamaro’s prints, works by his contemporaries and followers such as Eishi, Eisho-, Eiryu-, Cho-ki, Tsukimaro, etc are included in the show. This is the first time that the works of these ‘connoisseurs’ of female beauty is presented in Australia.
David Edwards