Accession Number
1948/1.152

Title
Surimono: The Lover in the Snow

Artist(s)
Katsushika Hokusai

Object Creation Date
circa 1817-1849

Medium & Support
color woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
4 7/8 in. x 6 3/16 in. ( 12.4 cm x 15.7 cm )

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Label copy
Katsushika Hokusai
Japan, 1760–1849
Surimono: The Lover in the Snow
Edo period (1615–1868)
circa 1817–58
Color woodblock print
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1948/1.152
This image showing a solitary figure walking in a snowy landscape may be the kind Whistler had in mind as he developed his print of Frances Leyland walking in the foreground of her home in Speke Hall, No. 1 (on view in the adjacent section on Margaret Watson Parker). In addition to the slender, downward-looking figure, the unifying tonalities and large untouched areas of paper in that work show a kinship with Japanese prints.

Subject matter
Snow scene with a figure carrying an umbrella.

Physical Description
The print depicts a figure in black walking in the snow with an umbrella. The snow covers the road, the well and the trees. Inscriptions of two poems appear on the upper right-hand corner, and the artist's signature can be found on the bottom edge of the print.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
color print

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
calligraphy (process)
figures (representations)
poems
snow (precipitation)
trees
winter