Reluctant Leave-taking

Suzuki Harunobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The application of one color over another increased the range of color and offered a means of creating subtle effects, such as transparency and shadowing. In this print of a young man departing from his lover, we see Harunobu's inventive employment of polychrome techniques in search of illusionary effects. The woman adjusts her lover's robe from under the veil of the mosquito netting, which we perceive to alter the color of her kimono. Color has now completely replaced line in the transformation of decorative patterning, as evidenced in the patterning of the kimono. Large areas of color also help to organize the composition through the suggestion of spatial depth.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art