Shinsui's extensive oeuvre spans bijin-ga, landscapes, and genre subjects. Auction averages over 12 months reflect healthy collector demand across all subject types.
The oppressive stillness that precedes a summer thunderstorm—the sky turning greenish-yellow, the air charged with electricity, the landscape holding its breath—is the atmospheric subject of this March 1920 print. Shinsui's sensitivity to weather and its emotional register is on full display here, as the ominous pre-storm mood is rendered not through dramatic imagery but through color and tonal manipulation alone. The subject complements his earlier "Before the Storm" of 1915 and demonstrates his sustained interest in the drama of atmospheric change.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Before a Thunderstorm was created by Ito Shinsui (伊東深水) in March 1920.
Before a Thunderstorm was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (March 1920).
Before a Thunderstorm depicts landscapes, rain, and summer.
Before a Thunderstorm measures 30.3 × 21.4 cm (Oban format).
