Beauty and Morning Glories
Mid-18th century
Medium
Color woodblock print; hashira-e
Dimensions
68.9 × 12 cm (27 × 4 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
109392
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
A young woman just out of her bath stands barefoot in a room opening onto a veranda. As she places a comb in her hair, she gazes at a casual but careful display of morning glories (asagao) growing in a flat box and trained over a small bamboo trellis. This print is a pillar picture (hashira-e), so called because it is the perfect size to be pasted onto an architectural pillar (hashira) for display in a home, restaurant, or other public or private space.
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...