Two Geisha

Kitagawa Utamaro was a woodblock print innovator utilizing different perspectives in his works. In addition to his innovative half-length portraits, Utamaro was known for portraying commonplace activities.

Two Geisha is a prime example of his depiction of everyday activity. Unlike many of his other prints, Two Geisha is much longer than it is wide, and the straight angle of the space the women take up allows the viewer to take in the entirety of their figures, starting with their heads, as the most pronounced colors are toward the top, and moving the eyes downward to take in the rest of the print.