Two Ladies
1764–72
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm); W. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 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
JP1640
Tags
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *Two Ladies* (1764–72) is a delicate woodblock print from Japan's Edo period (16151868), capturing the essence of ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating." Harunobu, a master of this genre, pioneered full-colorishiki-e prints around 1765, revolutionizing Japanese art by layering vibrant inks to achieve lifelike hues and subtle gradients. This intimate scene likely depicts two elegant women in a private moment, evoking themes of beauty and transience, with motifs like mirrors symbolizing self-reflection and poetry adding a layer of literary elegance—common in bijin-ga, or "pictu...
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...