溪齋英泉 Keisai Eisen (1790–1848)
木曾街道六十九次之内 板鼻
Itabana, from the series of The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido
1834
木版画 | 横绘大判 | 24.4 x 37.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban yoko -e | 24.6 x 36.5cm
第二版本的早期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相完好；有轻微中间折痕；带有美国藏家Edwin and Irma Grabhorn的藏印
Second edition, early impression with strong color; good condition; slight centrefold; Edwin and Irma Grabhorn Collection
Price on request
《板鼻》被普遍认为是英泉在《木曾街道六十九次》系列中最出色的雪景之一。板鼻位于木曾海道中段，是一处依山傍水的驿站，冬季严寒，常年为行旅途中最难熬的一段路。
画面描绘的是一场风雪初歇的清晨。积雪尚未化开，旅人沿着溪流前行，水声贴近道路，寒意随之而来。松林在雪后显得格外安静，远处天际透出一线晨光，却不足以带来暖意，只是让人意识到一天已经开始。英泉并未将雪景处理为纯粹的风景，而是将视线落在仍然继续赶路的人身上——人在其中前行，没有停下来的余地。
此作画面上并未署名，但从人物造型与用色方式判断，学界普遍认定其作者为溪斋英泉。该系列最初由英泉担纲主笔，他在完成24幅作品后中止创作，后由歌川广重接手完成全套。《板鼻》正是英泉阶段最具代表性的画作之一，也清楚地体现了他将视线放在旅途之人身上的创作取向。
Perhaps no single design better exemplifies both the magnificence and mysteries of the joint Eisen-Hiroshige series “The 69 Stations of the Kisokaido” than this, Itahana, the 15th station (or town) on the rugged inland road from Edo to Kyoto.
First, Eisen’s design: a knockout. Early morning travelers traipse beside a roaring stream beneath a row of pine trees on a frigid morning that is remarkably atmospheric. The glint of a red sunrise in the distance, the pale green of the riverbank, and the frosty snow atop the travelers’ hats tells us unmistakably that we’ve just missed a storm, perhaps a full-on blizzard, and it’s very cold, but the sky is clearing for a new day.
The scholar Sebastian Izzard calls this Eisen’s most successful snow scene and, indeed, it is among the most famous designs from this series, perhaps the most famous one.
Now, for the mystery: there’s no signature. Nor is there ever a signature on this design. What happened? No one knows for sure.
The work is unmistakably Eisen’s. He’d been hired to produce the series after the rip-roaring success of Hiroshige’s 53 Stations of the Tokaido in 1832-33, after Hiroshige, with too much work, apparently demurred.
But Eisen was known for poor work habits – and a zest for life. Whether that had any effect here is unknown, but eventually his contributions fell away, and Hiroshige took over the series and completed it.
There are very subtle differences from the first edition, including a reverse use of bokashi in the river, and slightly altered pigmentation in the sky.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
溪齋英泉 Keisai Eisen (1790–1848)
木曾街道六十九次之内 板鼻
Itabana, from the series of The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaido
1834
木版画 | 横绘大判 | 24.4 x 37.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban yoko -e | 24.6 x 36.5cm
第二版本的早期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相完好；有轻微中间折痕；带有美国藏家Edwin and Irma Grabhorn的藏印
Second edition, early impression with strong color; good condition; slight centrefold; Edwin and Irma Grabhorn Collection
Price on request
《板鼻》被普遍认为是英泉在《木曾街道六十九次》系列中最出色的雪景之一。板鼻位于木曾海道中段，是一处依山傍水的驿站，冬季严寒，常年为行旅途中最难熬的一段路。
画面描绘的是一场风雪初歇的清晨。积雪尚未化开，旅人沿着溪流前行，水声贴近道路，寒意随之而来。松林在雪后显得格外安静，远处天际透出一线晨光，却不足以带来暖意，只是让人意识到一天已经开始。英泉并未将雪景处理为纯粹的风景，而是将视线落在仍然继续赶路的人身上——人在其中前行，没有停下来的余地。
此作画面上并未署名，但从人物造型与用色方式判断，学界普遍认定其作者为溪斋英泉。该系列最初由英泉担纲主笔，他在完成24幅作品后中止创作，后由歌川广重接手完成全套。《板鼻》正是英泉阶段最具代表性的画作之一，也清楚地体现了他将视线放在旅途之人身上的创作取向。
Perhaps no single design better exemplifies both the magnificence and mysteries of the joint Eisen-Hiroshige series “The 69 Stations of the Kisokaido” than this, Itahana, the 15th station (or town) on the rugged inland road from Edo to Kyoto.
First, Eisen’s design: a knockout. Early morning travelers traipse beside a roaring stream beneath a row of pine trees on a frigid morning that is remarkably atmospheric. The glint of a red sunrise in the distance, the pale green of the riverbank, and the frosty snow atop the travelers’ hats tells us unmistakably that we’ve just missed a storm, perhaps a full-on blizzard, and it’s very cold, but the sky is clearing for a new day.
The scholar Sebastian Izzard calls this Eisen’s most successful snow scene and, indeed, it is among the most famous designs from this series, perhaps the most famous one.
Now, for the mystery: there’s no signature. Nor is there ever a signature on this design. What happened? No one knows for sure.
The work is unmistakably Eisen’s. He’d been hired to produce the series after the rip-roaring success of Hiroshige’s 53 Stations of the Tokaido in 1832-33, after Hiroshige, with too much work, apparently demurred.
But Eisen was known for poor work habits – and a zest for life. Whether that had any effect here is unknown, but eventually his contributions fell away, and Hiroshige took over the series and completed it.
There are very subtle differences from the first edition, including a reverse use of bokashi in the river, and slightly altered pigmentation in the sky.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
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