A Young Man Standing before a Garden Fence
Original title: A Young Man Standing before a Garden Fence
kurzbeschreibung
Suzuki Harunobu made this colour woodblock print around 1763. It shows a young woman in traditional Japanese dress standing before a garden fence. The work is executed in ink and colour on paper and measures 69.5 by 10.2 centimetres.
Description
A female figure in a long-sleeved top and trousers holds a stick or arrow and looks directly at the viewer. Flowers decorate her upswept hair. Blooms and plants suggest a garden wall. Characters appear at the upper left, likely a title or description, and at the lower right a character names the artist or printer. The layout is vertical and follows traditional Japanese style.
Context
Suzuki Harunobu ranks among the important woodblock artists of the Edo period and is known for his pillar prints (hashira-e). Around 1763 he experimented with multicolour printing, which helped spur the development of nishiki-e. At that time the technique of colour woodblock printing was refined through the use of multiple blocks, producing brightly coloured prints. The elegant woman in everyday dress was a common ukiyo-e motif that reflected the pleasure quarters and pastimes of the urban population.
Impact
Delicate colours and the figure's calm, graceful pose define the sheet. The vertical arrangement draws the eye to the fine details of the clothing and the stylised garden setting. Closeness to nature and idealised femininity combine into an atmosphere of quiet elegance.
Technique
For this print, colours were printed with ink on paper. Several woodblocks allowed the precise reproduction of various tones and details. Fine lines and flat areas of colour are characteristic of ukiyo-e.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)