Procession of Women Carrying Palanquin c. 19th century

Curator: This is Utagawa Toyohiro’s "Procession of Women Carrying Palanquin," a woodblock print now residing at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's got a quiet grace to it. The rhythmic movement of the figures, the subtle color palette... gives it a dreamlike quality. Curator: Note how Toyohiro divides the composition. The palanquin bearers on the left balance the women with the feathered standards on the right. The horizontal lines suggest a landscape barely there. Editor: I love that tension between the weight of the palanquin and the almost weightless quality of those plumes. Is that the artist’s comment on the burdens and fleeting moments of life? Curator: The lines and forms certainly evoke an interesting play of burdens and levity. We can read the standard bearers as escorting the palanquin, framing the procession. Editor: Yes, exactly! Toyohiro captures, quite beautifully, the poetry of mundane movement. Curator: Indeed. It reminds us to consider the unseen work that goes into keeping society upright. Editor: Well, I’m going to look at it again, feeling grateful for everyone who ever hauled anything!