Artist: Suzuki Harunobu
Title: Beauty by a Pot of Morning Glories
Date: c. 1768
Details: More information...
Source:
Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description:
These two pillar prints demonstrate how Harunobu created designs that were often used and reused with minor variations. His tall, thin beauty perfectly matches the attenuated format of the pillar print. In the work on the right, the young lady is perfectly groomed and her kimono is closed, revealing only a glimpse of her left leg, ankle, and foot. She carries a round fan in her right hand and places a stray hairpin into her already elegantly coiffed hair. As with many of the pillar prints, the figure is only partially seen. The flowers painted on her fan and the flowers in the pot, in this case dianthus, are reminders of summer time. The print on the left, Beauty by a Pot of Morning Glories, presents a similar, partially visible image of a young beauty just emerging from her bath, next to an array of morning glories. Her appearance is disheveled; her kimono flows off her body like water, exposing her breast and body. She is just beginning her toilette, placing the first and second combs in her hair as she grasps a washing cloth in her teeth. Less formal and refined, this image captures the immediacy of a young lady's daily life. Neither print is personalized enough to capture the personalities of the subjects, nor do these prints inspire particular emotions or moods. Instead, the images simply exist as timeless icons of beauty. (from Summer Evenings: Harunobu exhibition 5/30/06-)
