Two Ladies, Each with a Portion of a Lacquered Mirror
Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese
Not on view
Utamaro selectively used reflection to reinforce narrative and to emphasize themes. In this print, a standing woman holds up a mirror to a seated woman. Ironically, Utamaro chose to show the standing woman's reflection in the lacquered back of the mirror rather than the seated woman's in the mirror itself. The image involves a dual relationship: two women hold halves of the same object and perform a similar action. Their mimicking of each other duplicates the role of the mirror, which Utamaro placed between them as a communicative device.
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