Blowing Soap Bubbles Under the Plum Blossom
Original title: Blowing Soap Bubbles Under the Plum Blossom
kurzbeschreibung
A colour woodblock print by Suzuki Harunobu depicts a woman and a child blowing soap bubbles beneath a flowering plant. Printed in ink and colour on paper during the Edo period, the sheet measures 11 x 8 inches.
Description
A woman in traditional dress blows a soap bubble while a kneeling child in front of her stretches out both arms. Behind the figures stands a flowering plant that recalls cherry blossom. A house with wooden siding frames the view, and a crescent moon hangs in the blue sky. Blue, grey, white and pink dominate the palette.
Context
Suzuki Harunobu ranks among the foremost woodblock artists of the Edo period and is regarded as a pioneer of full-colour nishiki-e. Soap bubbles were a common subject in eighteenth-century Japan, standing for the transience of things. No exact date is recorded, but the work is placed in Harunobu's late phase, around 1765–1770.
Impact
The symmetrical layout and delicate colours leave a calm, balanced impression. Woman and child together give the scene something intimate and at the same time playful. Everyday observation and the symbolic plant combine to create a melancholy mood of impermanence.
Technique
Ink and colour are printed on paper, with crisp outlines and flat areas of colour characteristic of Japanese woodblock printing. It is probably a multi-colour print, which would have required several blocks. The linework and hatching stand out clearly, while the tonal values stay flat.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)