Window Opening Toward the Sea
Original title: Window Opening Toward the Sea
kurzbeschreibung
Suzuki Harunobu made this colour woodblock print in the 18th century. Three women dressed in traditional robes occupy a room, and through the open window the eye travels out to the sea and an island lying offshore.
Description
Three figures in Japanese dress fill the foreground: one stands at the window looking out, while two others sit together in conversation. Beyond the opening the sea stretches away with its island. Muted earth tones govern the colour, loosened here and there by brighter accents, and daylight falling into the room lifts the interior. Figures are placed forward and landscape behind, in an arrangement that stays calm and nearly symmetrical.
Context
Harunobu worked as a Japanese woodblock artist in the 18th century and became known above all for his delicate, refined portrayals of women. As a pioneer of multicolour printing, nishiki-e, he helped shape a technique that spread widely during the Edo period. In that era prints opened up to a broad urban public, and their subjects were often scenes of daily life and nature.
Impact
The image's quiet balance and restrained colours give it an air of calm contemplation. Interior and open sea meet, setting up a tension between nearness and distance that draws the viewer's gaze into the picture.
Technique
The sheet was made as a woodblock print in ink and colour on paper. Crisp contours and flat, closed areas of colour are entirely in keeping with Japanese colour woodblock technique. At 11 by 8 inches (27.9 by 20.3 cm) it is a handy sheet format of the kind common for public sale.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)