Who was Harunobu Suzuki?
Little is known about the life and personality of Suzuki Harunobu. The year of his birth was either 1724 or 1725. His birthplace is mentioned either as Kyoto or Edo (today Tokyo). It is agreed that he spent his life in Edo. Judging from his prints with often poetic texts, it can be assumed that Harunobu came from a cultured and bourgois background and that he was at home in intellectual and poetic circles. There are also speculations that he came from the samurai class. But that does not mean very much. The percentage of the population with a samurai background is estimated at 8 percent by historians. The art work of Suzuki Harunobu consists of drawings, paintings and at least 700 color prints. He illustrated about two dozen books. Harunobu as nearly all ukiyo-e artists also produced dozens of erotic prints, called shunga (springtime pictures). The increased mastering of multi-color printing can be well seen in his prints. His early works before 1765 used two to three colors – usually
