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Kitchen Scene

ca. 1794–95
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 231
A woman wearing a head covering blows through a bamboo tube to stoke the flames of the clay stove at center. The smoke drifts into the face of the figure holding a ceramic cup, who furrows her brow in discomfort as she prepares tea. The young woman at left peels an eggplant. Behind her, a mother with a small boy clinging to her back wipes a lacquer bowl. In this casual scene, Utamaro highlights the beauty of women engaged in household chores, idealizing their features while elevating an ordinary domestic moment. Although he was best known for his depictions of celebrated beauties and courtesans, in the 1790s he increasingly turned his attention to women from everyday life.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 喜多川歌麿画　台所
  • Title: Kitchen Scene
  • Artist: Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754–1806)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1794–95
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Diptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each): 14 5/8 × 9 7/8 in. (37.1 × 25.1 cm)
    Image (diptych): 14 5/8 × 19 3/4 in. (37.1 × 50.2 cm)
    Framed: 24 1/4 × 30 3/4 in. (61.6 × 78.1 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1922
  • Object Number: JP1369a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
In the Kitchen, Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Right-hand sheet of a diptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper, Japan
In the Kitchen
Kitagawa Utamaro
ca. 1794–95
Foot-Soldier with a Spear and Hawk-Handler (Yari-mochi yakko to taka shō), from the series Souvenir Paintings from Ōtsu, Stocked in Edo (Edo Shi-ire Ōtsu Miyage), Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
Foot-Soldier with a Spear and Hawk-Handler (Yari-mochi yakko to taka shō), from the series Souvenir Paintings from Ōtsu, Stocked in Edo (Edo Shi-ire Ōtsu Miyage)
Kitagawa Utamaro
ca. 1802–3
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei), Suzuki Harunobu Japanese, Woodblock print (first edition); ink and colors on paper, medium-sized print (chuban), Japan
Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei)
Suzuki Harunobu
ca. 1766
Sake Bottle (Tokkuri) in the Shape of an Eggplant, Stoneware with iridescent iron glaze and rice straw ash (Bairin ware), Japan
Sake Bottle (Tokkuri) in the Shape of an Eggplant
Japan
second half 19th century

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