Snow on the Way Back from the Public Bath
c. 1766/67
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
27.8 × 18.8 cm (11 × 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
77302
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *Snow on the Way Back the Public Bath* (c. 1766/67) captures a serene winter moment in Edo-period Japan (modern-day Tokyo), where women hurry home from the communal bathhouse amid falling snow. As a master of ukiyo-e "pictures of the floating world" genre celebrating everyday pleasures, beauty, and urban life—Harunobu pioneered full-color woodblock prints, known as *nishiki-e* or "brocade pictures," around 1765. This brought vibrant hues and subtle gradations to affordable mass-produced art, making it accessible beyond the elite. Printed in the chuban format (a compact 27.8 ...
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...