He painted mostly actor's portraits, flower and bird pictures in this earlier
years and began to work on beautiful women and their customs:most models of these
women were from those of the gay quarters.
Utamano deplored the fact that only
actor's portratis were then popular,
so he began to produce pictures of the well-known beautiful and popular young girls
in Edo and the popular courtesans of the Yoshiwara gay quarters,in his unique and
skilful technique of realism.His elegant style of painting gained great popularity
with all the people of Edo city,present-day Tokyo.
Figures in half-length called
"Ohkubi-e or big-head pictures", were of hisuniquecreation.Utamano's reputation swept
all over Edo and his works were so overwhelmingly in fashion that many imitations akso
came to be produced.That is the reason why most of his prints have his own signature on
them,for he made it a rule to sign his name,after imitation began to appear.
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