Untitled
Original title: Untitled
kurzbeschreibung
Suzuki Harunobu produced this colour woodblock print around 1768, presenting two figures in traditional Japanese dress within an interior. It was printed with ink and colour on paper and belongs among the ukiyo-e prints.
Description
Two figures govern the layout: at the front a figure crouches, bent over a bowl, while to the side a second stands holding a yellow umbrella with a dark rim. Both garments are patterned and kept in restrained tones. A bamboo wall closes off the room, and above it opens a cloudy sky with a tree. Earth tones and pastels set the colouring, as was usual for woodcuts of those years.
Context
Suzuki Harunobu stood out as a pioneer of multicolour woodblock printing, nishiki-e, a technique that spread through Edo, present-day Tokyo, during the 1760s. This print falls in a period when Harunobu favoured graceful scenes of city life, often touched with poetry. Everyday moments drawn with delicate linework were among the hallmarks of his style.
Impact
Quiet and intimacy emanate from this private scene; crisp contours and a harmonised palette make it look balanced and refined. The pastel tones and the hushed exchange between the two figures lend the sheet a poetic, almost timeless mood.
Technique
Woodblock printing with ink and colours on paper was the method used. For multicolour printing, several woodblocks served the individual colours, which allowed fine gradations and patterns. That the colour areas sit so precisely on one another speaks for great craftsmanship.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)