Woman in Red

Katsukawa Shunshō　勝川春章

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shunshō was a master at capturing the drama of the moment. He was the founder of the Katsukawa school, which devoted itself to depicting Edo's actors. Shunshō excelled at dramatic designs for pillar prints, which were made to be hung from house posts. He created linear figures that related in ingenious ways to this expressive and demanding shape. In this subtle yet erotic work, Shunshō exploits a single color to accentuate the sweeping lines of his drawing. An ordinary courtesan is defined by the fabric of her clothing, except for one arm, which pierces the folds of her long sleeve. She holds the bottom of this sleeve up to her face in a contrived gesture of modesty. A sheaf of tissue paper is in her other hand. Her simple robe is decorated with tie-dyed dots (kanoko shibori) in the traditional hemp-leaf pattern, a stylized motif often used for clothing.

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