ca. 1762
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
10 3/4 x 7 7/8 in. (27.3 x 20 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
Accession Number
JP2446
Tags
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *Print* (ca. 1762) is a exquisite example of Edo-period ukiyo-e, the "pictures of the floating world" that captured Japan's vibrant urban culture during the 17th–19th centuries. Created amid the prosperous Tokugawa shogunate, when woodblock prints became affordable art for the masses, this work reflects the era's fascination with beauty, fashion, and everyday elegance. Harunobu, a master of the genre, pioneered full-color nishiki-e prints around this time, using intricate layering of ink and pigments to achieve subtle gradients and lifelike hues on paper. Measuring just 10 3...
About the Artist
Suzuki Harunobu · 1725–1770
Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725-1770) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who revolutionized woodblock printing by developing nishiki-e—full-color prints using multiple woodblocks—in 1765. Before Harunobu, Japanese prints were limited to two or three colors; his innovation unleashed the entire artist's palette, transforming ukiyo-e into the vibrant art form that would later captivate Western artists from Manet...