← Suzuki Harunobu Suzuki Harunobu — A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen)

Suzuki Harunobu — A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen)

A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen)

Original title: A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen)

Artist: Suzuki Harunobu
Date: ca. 1767–69
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 11 1/8 x 8 1/8 in. (28.3 x 20.6 cm)
Credit line: Henry L. Phillips Collection, Bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939

kurzbeschreibung

Two young people sit facing each other across a shōgi board. Suzuki Harunobu captured this motif around 1767–69 in a colour woodblock print, ink and colour on paper. The sheet belongs to a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, bringing the world of classical verse together with everyday life in the Edo period.

Description

On the left, arms folded and gaze lowered, sits a figure in an orange robe with a dark pattern; the opponent, in a beige garment with geometric ornament, holds a playing piece between the fingers. Black and red pieces lie on the shōgi board between them, and a lantern, a bowl and a box stand nearby. A wooden wall and a flower-patterned curtain close off the room, whose warm oranges, beiges and browns dominate the image.

Context

In the late Edo period Harunobu shaped the multicolour woodblock print, the nishiki-e. His series after the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets sets classical poetry beside scenes from urban daily life. Shōgi was widely popular across many levels of society at the time. The artist was known above all for elegant female figures and intimate moments in which an idealised way of life shines through.

Impact

Symmetrically arranged and carried by the quiet composure of the two figures, the print unfolds a calm, familiar mood. Warm colours and carefully drawn lines give it something light, almost poetic, that draws the viewer's eye into the scene.

Technique

Several woodblocks were used for this ukiyo-e sheet, printing the colours one over another in layers, which produced the vivid, nuanced gradations. Printing was done with ink and colour on paper, as was usual for the Japanese colour woodblock print.

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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)