Comparing Utamaro And The Shunga Scroll

Throughout history, artists have depicted the figure in various styles with rather erotic tendencies. Pieces like The Shunga Scroll, depicting a series of intimate sexual scenes between various individuals, and Saint Sebastian, an artistic rendering of a saint that is idealized in exchange for languid eroticism, represent some of the most erotic treatments of the human figure. Though each piece represents various art styles as well as purposes, both works have been and will continue to be held in high regard.

Despite the fact that both pieces display erotic subject matter, the two pieces are far more different than they are alike. Both works are the products of vastly different time periods, cultures, and artistic styles. Utamaro’s shunga
The series is one of the finest of Utamaro’s various erotic designs. The scroll features 6 prints from Utamaro’s series, each connected by a hand drawn and colored pathway with roads, rivers, huts and torii gates - a very unique personal touch added by a collector who came about the piece. Utamaro's speciality was the depiction of women and specifically the courtesans of Yoshiwara; this skill was exceptionally useful as art devoted to erotic subjects climaxed with representations of great courtesans. Utamaro was also known for his scenes of the regulated brothel district of Edo and his sexually explicit images known as ‘shunga’. All of his works stand out from those of his peers due to their delicate depictions of drapery and interiors. The series depicts a large selection of men and women in various states of undress performing sexual acts. The series is known not only due to Utamaro’s skillful hand, but also the fact that the impressions include the depictions of three different classes of women (virgin, married, and courtesan) along with the humorous preface to the series from the artist’s fictional
The piece was likely commissioned by Manuel de Godoy to hang in his private collection in a separate cabinet reserved for nude paintings. Within the work, Goya portrays a nude woman reclining on a bed of pillows. She lies there seductively with a rather inviting expression, almost as if she beckons the viewer forward. The painting differs from most traditional nudes as it depicts her pubic hair, something entirely uncommon within western paintings of the time. This aspect of the work is what causes Goya to be brought before the Spanish Inquisition in 1815; they viewed the art to be immoral and tried to even figure out who had commissioned the piece. Every ounce of lighting focuses upon the nude herself and the couch she rests on. Goya created a pendant of the same woman identically posed, but clothed, known today as La Maja Vestida; it is usually hung next to La Maja Desnuda. The subject is identified as a maja based on her costume in La Maja