See Them Fly
Original title: See Them Fly
kurzbeschreibung
Suzuki Harunobu's colour woodblock print 'Sieh sie fliegen' dates from around 1767 and shows two women in traditional Japanese dress inside a house. Through an open door their gaze leads outside to a bridge, a flowering plant and birds taking flight. The sheet belongs among the characteristic ukiyo-e prints of the eighteenth century.
Description
Two women in richly patterned robes of red, grey and white sit on the floor of a room. An open door frames a view of a bridge and a flowering plant, while four birds drift through the air. At the right of the image, waves and mountains are suggested. Soft, harmonious tones of pink, beige and grey define the palette; even light brings out the details.
Context
Suzuki Harunobu is regarded as a pioneer of multicolour woodblock printing (nishiki-e) in Japan. During the Edo period, when prints like this were made for the urban bourgeoisie, scenes of everyday life and nature were popular, as were elegant female figures. The signature and publisher are not recorded here, which did happen at the time.
Impact
Stillness and delicate colour set the mood of the print. Because interior and exterior interlock, the viewer is drawn into the peaceful scene, with no dramatic climax.
Technique
The print is executed as a woodblock print with ink and colour on paper. Harunobu used multicolour printing, in which each colour receives its own separately cut woodblock and the impressions are laid over one another in precise register. His approach is marked by delicate contours and flatly applied colours.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)