High Noon
by Ito Shinsui
- Date:
- 1937
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 26.7 × 39.7 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
The stark overhead light of midday—high noon (seichuu or mahiru), when shadows disappear directly beneath their objects and the sky is at its most intensely blue—is the subject of this 1937 landscape. Shinsui's interest in this specific time of day, at the opposite extreme from his more typical dawn, dusk, and evening subjects, suggests a desire to explore the full range of light conditions across the diurnal cycle. High noon's qualities—hard light, no shadow, maximum visibility—created compositional challenges quite different from the atmospheric subtleties of transitional lighting.
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
High Noon was created by Ito Shinsui (伊東深水) in 1937.
High Noon was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1937).
High Noon depicts landscapes and summer.
High Noon measures 26.7 × 39.7 cm (Oban format).