Plucking a Branch from a Neighbor's Plum Tree
Original title: Plucking a Branch from a Neighbor's Plum Tree
kurzbeschreibung
Suzuki Harunobu made this colour woodblock print around 1768. A woman in a patterned kimono reaches for a branch of a plum tree that leans over a wall. The print is in the chu-ban format, a medium-sized sheet measuring 27.3 by 20 cm.
Description
A figure in a bright kimono covered with floral patterns and wearing a traditional hairstyle fills the sheet. One hand grasps the branch while the other stretches slightly upward. Behind her rises a wall with a patterned roof, and flowering plum branches hang down above it; two shoes rest on the ground. Grey, white and green dominate, with orange and pink as accents.
Context
In the 1760s, the multicolour woodblock print (nishiki-e) emerged in Edo, present-day Tokyo, and Harunobu is considered its pioneer. This sheet dates from the late Edo period, when portraits of elegant women (bijin-ga) were highly popular with the urban public. An everyday yet poetic moment like this reflects bourgeois culture and its sense of the fleeting nature of blossoms (mono no aware).
Impact
Curving lines and restrained colours give the print a light, elegant air. The quiet, almost intimate situation invites the viewer to share in the moment of observation. Figure, architecture and nature interlock so harmoniously that a poetic mood arises.
Technique
The print was made with ink and colour on paper using the woodblock technique. Thin lines and flat areas of colour, produced by the interplay of several blocks, are characteristic of colour woodblock printing. Sharp contours and even colour application testify to the craftsmanship of the printing workshop involved.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)