Before the Storm
by Ito Shinsui
- Date:
- 1915
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 32.9 × 23.8 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
One of the earliest prints Shinsui produced for publisher Watanabe Shozaburo, Before the Storm from 1915 captures the charged atmosphere preceding a summer downpour, when the sky takes on a greenish cast and the air becomes unnaturally still. The work already shows the young artist's sensitivity to weather and mood that would become hallmarks of his landscape output, rendered in restrained tones quite different from the vibrant palette of his later bijin-ga. At seventeen, Shinsui was already possessed of an instinct for the emotive possibilities of weather.
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 the Storm was created by Ito Shinsui (伊東深水) in 1915.
Before the Storm was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1915).
Before the Storm depicts landscapes, rain, and summer.
Before the Storm measures 32.9 × 23.8 cm (Oban format).