A Beauty Looking Down upon a Young Man Reading a Love Letter
ca. 1771
Medium
Woodblock print (pillar print); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
26 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. (66.7 x 10.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Accession Number
JP675
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the enchanting woodblock print *A Beauty Looking Down upon Young Man Reading a Love*, created around 1771 by Utagawa Toyaru, a graceful woman peers down from an upper balcony at a young man absorbed in a romantic missive below. This narrow "pillar print"—measuring just 4¼ inches wide—was designed for hanging on slender architectural pillars in Japanese homes or teahouses, showcasing Toyoharu's mastery of the ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world") tradition. Using ink and vibrant colors on paper, the artist captures intimate everyday moments with delicate lines and subtle shading, evokin...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyoharu · 1735–1814
Utagawa Toyoharu (1735–1814) holds a foundational place in the history of Japanese printmaking as the founder of the prolific and long-lived Utagawa school, which would go on to produce some of the most celebrated names in ukiyo-e, including Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi. Born in what is now Hyogo Prefecture, Toyoharu moved to Edo, where he studied under Toriyama Sekien and later explored the Kano schoo...