Untitled

Suzuki Harunobu

late 1760s · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

The application of one color over another increased the range of color and offered a means of creating subtle effects, such as transparency and shadowing. In this print of a young man departing from his lover, we see Harunobu's inventive employment of polychrome techniques in search of illusionary effects. The woman adjusts her lover's robe from under the veil of the mosquito netting, which we perceive to alter the color of her kimono. Color has now completely replaced line in the transformation of decorative patterning, as evidenced in the patterning of the kimono. Large areas of color also help to organize the composition through the suggestion of spatial depth.

Artist

Suzuki Harunobu

Date

late 1760s

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914