Mother and Child with Puppies

Artist/Culture Kitagawa Utamaro I 喜多川歌麿 (Japanese, early 1750s–1806)

Date1806, 6th month

Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper

DimensionsVertical ōban: 38.1 x 24.8 cm (15 x 9 3/4 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

MarkingsCensor's seals: kiwame, Tiger 6 極、寅六

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Japanese Print

Object number1901.59.2389

Label TextThis portrayal of a woman and child with a small litter of puppies tumbling at their feet is whimsical as well as intimate, demonstrating Utamaro I’s ability to create heightened emotional resonance even in fairly simple compositions. Although there is no information about their identities provided in the print, the figures’ fashionable clothes offer the viewer clues as to the nature of their relationship. For example, the colors of the woman’s kimono are inversely mirrored in the boy’s garments (so, whereas she layers red under purple, his is purple under red). This was a device Utamaro I commonly used to indicate a relationship between two people, most often between family members. This is considered by experts to be one of, if not the best remaining impressions of this print in the world.

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