Titling a [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) portrait after Shakespeare's heroine invites a reading of the figure through the lens of romantic longing and youthful beauty. The mezzotint medium lends the composition a nocturnal atmosphere well suited to the subject's literary associations — deep, burnished blacks surrounding a luminous face rendered through careful plate work. Takahashi likely presents a contemplative female figure, perhaps posed at a window or balcony in oblique reference to the play's most iconic scene. The fusion of Western literary subject matter with Japanese bijin-ga conventions and mezzotint technique reflects the cross-cultural synthesis characteristic of mid-to-late twentieth century Japanese printmaking.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Juliet was created by Ushio Takahashi (高橋潮).
Juliet uses Etching, on mezzotint.
Juliet depicts bijin-ga and portraits.
