Evening Cool, from the series "Twelve Modern Beauties"
新美人十二姿 涼み
Artist
ITO,Shinsui 伊東 深水
Birth Year
1898
Death Year
1972
Date
1922
Technique, Material, Format
woodblock print
Dimension
40.9 x 23.9 cm
Category
Print by Japanese Artist
Inventory Number
88-PRJ-008
Riverbanks were popular with people in the Edo Period (1603-1868) as a place to enjoy a cool breeze, and they were often depicted in ukiyo-e prints. Perhaps this woman with her elbows on the railing of the bridge is also here seeking respite from the heat? She’s wearing a thin black kimono that looks like it would let in the cool breeze. The white obi around her waist has a pattern in indigo that grabs our attention. The pattern features dianthus flowers, which bloom in summer, and bamboo structures used to prevent flood damage on rivers. This work was created as part of the Shin-Hanga (New Prints) Movement, which revived the techniques of ukiyo-e printing and carving during the Taisho Era (1912-26). On this hot summer night, the woman’s figure is bound to set imaginations racing.
(KUMASAKA Kumi)
Riverbanks were popular with people in the Edo Period (1603-1868) as a place to enjoy a cool breeze, and they were often depicted in ukiyo-e prints. Perhaps this woman with her elbows on the railing of the bridge is also here seeking respite from the heat? She’s wearing a thin black kimono that looks like it would let in the cool breeze. The white obi around her waist has a pattern in indigo that grabs our attention. The pattern features dianthus flowers, which bloom in summer, and bamboo structures used to prevent flood damage on rivers. This work was created as part of the Shin-Hanga (New Prints) Movement, which revived the techniques of ukiyo-e printing and carving during the Taisho Era (1912-26). On this hot summer night, the woman’s figure is bound to set imaginations racing.
(KUMASAKA Kumi)