A Young Woman Reading A Letter

A Young Woman Reading A Letter

Kitagawa Utamaro

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this print, from a series portraying women in different phases of romance, Utamaro captures a young woman at the moment she stops to comtemplate a letter. She extends her hands from her robe to hold this letter from her lover that perhaps suggests their next meeting. She lifts her head, opens her mouth slightly, and looks into the distance. The large-head portrait format effectively captures her complex emotion, agony perhaps.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Young Woman Reading A LetterA Young Woman Reading A LetterA Young Woman Reading A LetterA Young Woman Reading A LetterA Young Woman Reading A Letter

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.