Geisha and Attendant on a Rainy Night

Geisha and Attendant on a Rainy Night

Kitagawa Utamaro

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The huge form of an umbrella accentuates the half-length figures of a geisha and her maid, carrying a shamisen case. It is night, and they walk into the driving rain. The heavy, steady rain is rendered in fine ink lines over the background of darkness, bisected by an angular swath of soft light from the lantern. Utamaro, a prolific ukiyo-e artist, was fascinated by themes of daily life as well as by beautiful women.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Geisha and Attendant on a Rainy NightGeisha and Attendant on a Rainy NightGeisha and Attendant on a Rainy NightGeisha and Attendant on a Rainy NightGeisha and Attendant on a Rainy Night

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.