Posted by Guy (83.134.107.76) on November 16, 2010 at 12:59:52:
In Reply to: Re: Herde Utamaro! posted by Preben on November 16, 2010 at 10:04:08:
This kind of prints are not uncommon. Take a look at this link to an overview of prints by Utamaro II in the MFA Boston:
http://educators.mfa.org/objects/search?related_people_text=Kitagawa+Utamaro+II&page=1
Utamaro II (?-ca. 1831) is a sketchy figure who may have begun his career as pupil of 'gesaku' author Koikawa Harumachi I, becoming himself Harumachi II in 1789. As a writer he produced most of his work between 1787-95. He is thought to have collaborated with Kitagawa Utamaro on some of his last print issued in the early 1800s and took the name Utamaro II in 1806. His early 19th c print designs are frequently difficult to distinguish from those of Utamaro I, but the signature is typically more elongated than Utamaro I's. His later paintings are more mannered, as they incoporated elements of Utagawa and other styles of the 1810s to 1820s (source: The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints).
Guy.