Description
A bag of sweetmeats connects the hands of a dark-robed woman leaning toward her seated mother in Kitagawa Utamaro’s print. Small inset images occupy the upper corners. The central exchange gives the relationship a particular moment, allowing a modest object and the movement toward it to carry the scene’s lively human interest.
The woodblock print was made with ink and color on paper. Utamaro gives a small incident enough importance to sustain a close encounter with the image, allowing ordinary behavior to carry its human character. The bag connects the two people even as the action suggests different claims upon it. The work’s appeal lies in that immediate exchange, where a modest object can make a relationship visible through a single represented gesture.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.
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