A Girl Writing a Letter
18th century
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm); W. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP1628
Tags
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *A Girl Writing a Letter* (18th century) captures an intimate moment from Japan's vibrant Edo period (16151868), a time of urban prosperity and cultural flourishing in cities like Edo (modern Tokyo). This woodblock print, measuring just 11½ by 8¼ inches, exemplifies Harunobu's mastery of *ukiyo-e*—"pictures of the floating world"—icting everyday scenes of beauty, romance, and daily life. As one of the first artists to pioneer full-color *nishiki-e* prints around 1765, Harunobu transformed the medium with his innovative use of multiple woodblocks for vibrant inks layered on pa...
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...