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Untitled

Kitagawa Utamaro

1794

ink

paper

From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Romanticism Ukiyo-e 18th Century Genre Scene Fruit

Dominant colour

Untitled is a 1794 ink by Kitagawa Utamaro, a Romanticism work, depicting Fruit, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Kitagawa Utamaro
When & what style?: 1794 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Metropolitan Museum of Art

About this work

This print shows a woman in a loose, patterned robe sitting cross-legged on a mat. She holds a fan near her face, looking down at a small child kneeling beside her. The child wears a simple red outfit and seems to be reaching up toward her. The background is plain, keeping focus on the two figures and their quiet moment. Notice how the woman’s robe is made of tiny, repeating lines—this is a way to show fabric texture without shading. The artist used this trick often in his work. Look up cross-hatching to see how other artists used this technique.