喜多川歌麿画 夜の雨に芸者と三味線箱を持つ女|Geisha and Attendant on a Rainy Night

Kitagawa Utamaro

ca. 1797 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

The huge form of an umbrella accentuates the half-length figures of a geisha and her maid, carrying a shamisen case. It is night, and they walk into the driving rain. The heavy, steady rain is rendered in fine ink lines over the background of darkness, bisected by an angular swath of soft light from the lantern. Utamaro, a prolific ukiyo-e artist, was fascinated by themes of daily life as well as by beautiful women.

Artist

Kitagawa Utamaro

Date

ca. 1797

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1929