Description
Tomimoto Toyohina holds a narrow pale letter upright before her chest in Kitagawa Utamaro’s close portrait. A dark outer robe and red collar frame her face beneath a large coiffure. Reading gives the named woman a particular activity, bringing the small written object into relation with the more expansive shapes of clothing and hair.
Made in 1790, the woodblock print uses ink and color on paper. Utamaro finds a subject in an interval that ordinarily passes within private life, allowing concentration itself to carry human significance. The work invites attention to the reader rather than supplying the contents of her letter. Its appeal lies in that restraint, where the visible act is particular while the communication behind it remains part of the scene’s intimate openness.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.
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