梅|Blowing Soap Bubbles Under the Plum Blossom

Suzuki Harunobu

Date unknown · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

In this print the device is again employed of a classical poem incorporated into a cloudlike formation at the top. The poem reads, freely: "I do not want my mind to be tainted by the smell and color of the plums, but the wind stealthily carries the mysterious scent and color into my sleeve." Under a plum blossom tree, a mother blows bubbles as her son watches with amusement. The use of the plum, a symbol of sexuality and eroticism, coupled with the mother's activity and the child's celebratory dancing, seems to suggest the act of procreation and the value of maternity.

Artist

Suzuki Harunobu

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of Julia H. Manges, in memory of her husband, Dr. Morris Manges, 1960