Beauty with Attendant Carrying an Insect Cage c. 1760s

Suzuki Harunobu created this woodblock print, "Beauty with Attendant Carrying an Insect Cage," sometime in the mid-18th century. The composition, rendered in delicate lines and muted colours, presents two figures against a flat, atmospheric background. The arrangement of the figures suggests a subtle interplay of gazes and gestures that contributes to a sense of depth despite the flattening of the image. Harunobu’s work is celebrated for its innovative approach to colour printing, known as *nishiki-e* or "brocade pictures," which allowed for a new level of detail. The lines here define form, while blocks of colour define spatial relations, flattening the figures and emphasizing the surface. The insect cage, held delicately by the attendant, could function semiotically, evoking ideas about confinement, beauty, and the ephemerality of life. The contrast of the two figures in a semiotic relationship—the beauty and her attendant—challenges fixed social meanings, suggesting a more nuanced dynamic between individuals. The beauty with her open umbrella, however, has freedom of movement, and we are left to wonder how her presence destabilizes established values.