Young Woman Climbing a Ladder
ca. 1768
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
25 1/8 x 4 15/32 in. (63.8 x 11.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Francis Lathrop Collection, Purchase, Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1911
Accession Number
JP670
Tags
Art Historical Context
Suzuki Harunobu's *Young Woman Climbing a Ladder* (ca. 1768) is a delicate woodblock print Japan's Edo period (16151868), capturing a moment of graceful everyday life. This tall, narrow *hosoban* format—measuring about 25 x 4 inches—was popular for affordable, intimate scenes in the vibrant ukiyo-e tradition or "pictures of the floating world," which celebrated urban pleasures, beauty, and transience. The image likely depicts a young woman ascending a ladder amid lush leaves, evoking seasonal poetry and the quiet elegance of feminine pursuits, such as harvesting fruit. Harunobu (1725–1770), a...
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...