A Woman Sweeping up Her Love Letters
1725–1770
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
11 1/8 x 8 1/2 in. (28.3 x 21.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Henry L. Phillips Collection, Bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939
Accession Number
JP2779
Tags
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *A Woman Sweeping up Love Letters* (c. 1765–70) captures a poignant moment from Japan's Edo period (1615–1868), a time of vibrant urban culture in cities like Edo (modern Tokyo). Harunobu, a pioneeringkiyo-e artist active from 1725 to 1770, revolutionized woodblock printing by introducing full-color *niishiki-e* (brocade pictures) around 1765. This print, measuring just 11⅛ × 8½ inches, exemplifies his mastery of delicate, everyday scenes from the "floating world" of pleasure and transience. Rendered in ink and color on paper through intricate woodblock techniques—where mult...
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...