Hiroshige | Evening Snow at Hira, Eight Views of Omi
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
近江八景 比良暮雪
Evening Snow at Hira, from the series of Eight Views of Omi
1857
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 37.5cm x 25.3m
Woodblock-print | Oban Tate-e | 37.5cm x 25.3m
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好；边缘完整
Fine impression, color and condition; full margin
《近江八景》（鱼屋荣吉版），是歌川广重于1857年推出的纵版风景绘系列，全套共计八幅。其整体气质辽远开阔，构图浑然天成，体现了广重晚年创作的最高水准。
受中国潇湘八景这一传统题材的影响，日本也有许多各地自评的“八景”，如最知名的近江八景。此八景依然沿用着潇湘八景的胜景名称，只是冠以了近江国（今滋贺县）本土化的地名。如本作名中的“比良暮雪”，便是化用了潇湘八景中的“江天暮雪”。
比良山脉，位于滋贺县琵琶湖西岸，南北长约20公里，最高峰为海拔1214.4米的武奈岳。受日本海侧气候影响，每当冬季的朔风席卷着比良山脉，不消多时，即可见漫山遍野银装素裹。前景“U”字形山谷上棵棵雪松斜立，当中弯曲羊肠小道有两名樵夫背负薪柴拾级远去；中景内的琵琶湖水面蔚蓝澄澈，无一丝水波泛起，更显清冷。抬头望向地平线外的彤云，碎金点点，一首传为战国时代武将六角高赖（生卒年不详）所作的和歌浮现其上：雨雪霏霏，比良高岭，暮色沉、花已盛、春将至。
A pair of woodcutters trudge a lonely path through the snowy mountains. Cedar trees grow sideways from the sides of the U-shaped valley, persevering despite the rugged terrain and the relentless winds coming off the Sea of Japan. In the distance, the deep blue of Lake Biwa shines brightly as a dark-red sunset envelopes the frozen world. But spring is near.
This print, in pristine condition with unusually full margins, is from "Eight Views of Omi" published by Eiyoshi Uoya in 1857. Eight views – or hakkei – was a popular format for series focused on a particular city or region. Hiroshige designed numerous such series depicting Omi, near Kyoto in what is today Shiga prefecture. This is from the last, and the only one in the upright tate-e format that he embraced in his later years. It is the lone snow scene in the set.
The view, the sense of distance, of a deep, recently fallen snow, are hallmarks of Hiroshige’s work, while the printing itself is of the highest caliber, with rich reds, luminous bokashi and a wonderful intricate design of golden cubes in the sky. Amid those dancing cubes are the lyrics to a song said to have been written by the military commander Rokkaku Takayori during the Warrning States period:
Rain and snow are falling, Hira high mountain, dusk is sinking, flowers are blooming, Spring is coming.
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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.