Three Boys Making a Snowman
Original title: Three Boys Making a Snowman
kurzbeschreibung
Suzuki Harunobu made this colour woodblock print, Three Boys Building a Snowman, around 1767–68. Three children dressed in traditional Japanese clothing shape a snowman in a snowy landscape. The sheet is a nishiki-e, a multicolour woodblock print on paper.
Description
Three children put a snowman together. Their traditional Japanese garments, in restrained tones, stand out against the white snow. Snow-covered cherry blossom branches fill the background. Greys dominate the muted palette, reinforced by the snow cover and the fabrics of the figures. Diffuse light settles over the quiet winter scene.
Context
Harunobu is regarded as a pioneer of nishiki-e, the multicolour woodblock print that emerged in Edo, today's Tokyo, in the 1760s. Children in snow were a popular subject in eighteenth-century Japan, linking everyday observation with seasonal references. The snow-laden cherry branches invoke the Japanese sense of the fleeting nature of beauty.
Impact
A quiet, cheerful mood emanates from the print, carried by the muted colours and soft light. The children's activity feels lively and at the same time contemplative; the viewer is drawn into the winter scene.
Technique
For nishiki-e, each colour is printed from its own woodblock. Ink and colours reach the paper in this way. The precise handling of the lines and the nuanced colouring attest to the high craft of this printing method.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)