Untitled

Kitagawa Utamaro

ca. 1800 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Unlike Harunobu's romantic parting scenes, Utamaro's focuses on the sensuality and eroticism of the lovers more directly. Utamaro portrays the courtesan half undressed, with her breast and thigh exposed. Her dress is rumpled at the cross of her thighs, adding even more of a sensual air to the scene. The man's elongated face, the courtesan's unkempt hair, and their pale skin enhance the erotic mood. The couple's seemingly fixed poses, emphasized by the way they look at and touch each other, makes it appear as if they are acting out a scene in a play.

Artist

Kitagawa Utamaro

Date

ca. 1800

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1919