Love that Rarely Meets

This image comes from a series of five close-ups expressing moods of women in love. Here, on a luxurious mica background, a young woman who has perhaps just discovered love for the first time gazes into the distance. Her white fingers are partially concealed within her kimono sleeve, lifting it coyly to chin level. Her head is decked out in a Shimada hairstyle with a variety of pins—including the paired floral ornaments fashionable in the late 1700s. The artist Utamaro was well known for close-up portraits that emphasize various aspects of female beauty.