Suzuki Harunobu (1725 ? -1770), Autumn evening autumn evening, ca. 1767/68 Format chban, 28,7x21,5 cm Nishiki-e print, ink and polychrome on paper representing a young woman lying next to her child while an old woman pulls lengths of thread. It is illustrated with a waka poem by the poet Taira no Kanemori (10th c.) which reads as follows: 暮れてゆく 秋の形見に おくものは 我が元結の 霜にぞありける Kurete yuku aki no katami ni oku mono wa waga motoyui no himo ni zo arikeru. Autumn is going away and leaves behind its frost on my hair. From an untitled series illustrating classical poems, Harunobu created many works based on classical poems. The figure on the right of the old woman kneeling next to a wooden box from which she is pulling lengths of thread is taken directly from a book by Harunobu: Ehon hana kazura, vol. III ¥"ªá where the same image of this old woman is shown. And the reference in the poem of frost on the hair is a metaphor of the hair turning white with age. Harunobu's use of the figure in this quiet, poetic scene is a fine example of the sense of transformation that is at the heart of ukiyo-e and so much other Japanese art. Stamp of the Tadamasa Hayashi collection. Wear and stains, small missing at the bottom left. Provenance: Jeannette Ostier Gallery