Before a Thunderstorm
by Ito Shinsui
- Date:
- March 1920
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 30.3 × 21.4 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
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.
More Prints by Ito Shinsui
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
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).