Two Lovers

Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Moronobu, the earliest ukiyo-e master, was trained in his family's textile business. He used his knowledge of fabric in the design of his prints, which were the first to explore the theme of beautiful women. He adapted a calligraphic style to black-and-white woodblocks, creating expression by manipulating line. This print, a leaf from an album of shunga, or erotica, shows Moronubu's ability to suggest human sensibilities through inanimate objects. Contrasting the curves of the costumes with the straight lines of the architectural setting, he portrays a woman and her lover, whose bodies—and robes—are beginning to intertwine. Behind them, seeming to float in space because of the artificially high viewpoint, is a cast-off uchikake (outer robe). The sleeves lie parallel, reinforcing the idea of the couple's intimacy, as does the association of the stringed instrument and the sword.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art