当世風俗通 女房風|Mother and Child
ca. 1790
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 14 7/8 in. (37.8 cm); W. 10 in. (25.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1919
Accession Number
JP1121
Tags
About this artwork
This woodblock print depicts a mother and child in an intimate domestic scene, created around 1790 by Kitagawa Utamaro during Japan's Edo period. The composition shows a tender moment between mother and child, exemplifying the artist's skill in portraying everyday life with grace and sensitivity. The figures are rendered with Utamaro's characteristic elegance, featuring the slender forms and refined linework that define his bijin-ga or "pictures of beautiful women." Utamaro was one of the most h...
Art Historical Context
In the bustling world of Edo-period Japan (1615–8), Kitagawa Utaro captured the quiet poetry of everyday life with this woodblock print, *Mother and Child* (ca. 1790). Titled *当世風俗通 女房風* in, it portrays an intimate domestic moment between a mother and her infant, rendered in ink and color on paper. Measuring about 15 by 10 inches, this ukiyo-e print—meaning "pictures of the floating world"—reflects the era's fascination with fleeting pleasures and human connections amid urban prosperity. Utamaro, a master of bijin-ga or "pictures of beautiful women," excelled in elegant, slender figures with ...
About the Artist
Kitagawa Utamaro · 1753–1806
Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753-1806) was one of the most celebrated masters of ukiyo-e woodblock printing, revolutionizing the art of bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) during Japan's Edo period. Born Kitagawa Ichitaro, his early life remains shrouded in mystery, with conflicting accounts placing his birth in Kyoto, Osaka, Yoshiwara in Edo (modern Tokyo), or Kawagoe in Musashi Province. Under the t...