Hiroshige | Azusa kanozan, 36 Views of Mt. Fuji
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
富士三十六景 上総鹿埜山
Azusa kanozan, from the series of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
1858
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36cm x 25cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36cm x 25cm
早期的版次；品相非常好
Early impression; great condition
$3,800
提到“富士”与“三十六景”，大家首先想到的，应该都是北斋于1830-1832年间创作的那套横绘风景画《富岳三十六景》。毕竟，这是一套包含有《神奈川冲浪里》《山下白雨》《凯风快晴》等一众名品的神作。但大多数人并不了解的是，广重也曾创作过名为《富士三十六景》的风景画系列，并且还有两套：一套为1852年创作的中判横绘；另一套则为1858年创作，1859年广重逝世后发行的大判纵绘，即本作来源。
上总，即上总国，日本旧东海道令制国，原国域为今千叶县中部。其境内的最高峰是位于今千叶县君津市的鹿野山（古时写作“鹿埜山”）。海拔只有379米的它，凭借其内供奉有日本武尊的白鸟神社而远近驰名，一跃成为房总半岛的名山。据记载，广重曾两度前往鹿野山参拜，本作中的取景地，也正是到访白鸟神社的必经参道。停下脚步，稍作休整，神社的鸟居已在你的右手旁。面对眼前的江户湾与富士山，前方赶路的骑马女子及马夫都忍不住掉转头，直直沉醉在这壮美辽阔的景色之中。要说最惹眼的，还要数画面中央的这棵高大杉树。它的存在，使周边景物的层次感及道路的弯曲起伏更加明晰，同时直接拉满了画面的视觉冲击力。构图魔法师广重，再一次用前卫大胆的设计诠释了东方透视的独特魅力。
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Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Ando Hiroshige (1897-1858) revolutionized the art of landscape prints during the Edo era, building on the success of his senior, Hokusai, but taking a more poetic and naturalist approach to portraying the beauty of Japan.
The son of a low-level Samurai assigned to the fire brigade in Edo, Hiroshige became a student of the Utagawa school as a young man. His first prints focused on beautiful women (bijin), and views of Edo. But in 1833 he began work on his most famous early work, his first series depicting the Tokaido, the "Great Sea Road" between Edo and Tokyo.
Today there is some controversy about this series. Initially, it was believed that Hiroshige had travelled the route along with a local lord (Daimyo) who was making a gift of horses to the Emperor. But more recent scholarship suggests Hiroshige never travelled the road himself, at least not the entire way, and made his designs using published guidebooks.
Nonetheless, the prints were wonderful and revolutionary. They embraced the seasons with a gentle lyricism missing from Hokusai's striking but stylized depictions. In Hiroshige's work, nature is sacred -- but it is always mixed with humanity, with travelers or little inns or bridges. There is a magical harmony between man and the elements.
His depiction of the seasons and weather is especially evocative. Snow blankets some views with a hushed silence, while rain streaks down furiously in others. In some prints natured is agitated; in others, calm prevails. Produced in a horizontal oban yoko-e format, the series was a smash hit.
The Tokaido series made Hiroshige famous, and he became incredible prolific. In the 1840s he produced many strong designs, but many mediocre ones, too, including several subsequent Tokaido series of varying quality.
In 1853, however, he made a big step. He turned his landscapes sideways, embracing a bold vertical oban tate-e format. This gave his designs new energy and a modern feel. The first of these was Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces. From them on, most of his most noted series were executed in this format.
He saved his greatest for his last. In 1856 he began work on 100 Famous Views of Edo, which many consider his most exceptional work. Here his home city was portrayed with energy and passion, and in these 119 designs he created an incredible record of a vanished place. In addition to the striking vertical format, he developed exciting new compositions, often juxtaposing a strong foreground element with a distant background.
Among the many famous images in this series are Squall at Ohashi and the Plum Garden in Komeido. Both of these were copied by Vincent Van Gogh, a great admirer of Hiroshige. Thus, the great Japanese artist had a profound effect on Western art.
Alas, his beloved Edo ended his life. Hiroshige was claimed by a cholera epidemic that swept the city in 1958. His pupil Shigenobu, who took the name Hiroshige II, completed The Famous Views of Edo.