Wistful Love (Mono-omoi koi), from the series Anthology of Poems: The Love Section (Kasen koi no bu)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Utamaro’s lasting fame was established with “large-head pictures” (ōkubi-e) such as this one, an immensely popular image of a woman caught in a moment of melancholy reflection on love. Portrayed against a pink mica background, the sitter has shaved eyebrows and blackened teeth that identify her as a married or “kept” woman. Each of the six prints in the series depicts a psychological manifestation of romantic love. In earlier portrait series, Utamaro had presented himself as a “physiognomist” par excellence of women, able to capture a state of mind by representing the physical characteristics of a person’s facial expressions.
Artwork Details
- 喜多川歌麿画 「歌撰恋之部 物思恋」
- Title: Wistful Love (Mono-omoi koi), from the series Anthology of Poems: The Love Section (Kasen koi no bu)
- Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754–1806)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: 1793–94
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink, color, and mica on paper; vertical ōban
- Dimensions: Frame: 20 5/8 × 16 1/8 in. (52.4 × 41 cm)
Image: 14 1/2 × 9 3/4 in. (36.8 × 24.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Lent by Lee E. Dirks
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art