Hiroshige | Kuwana, Upright Tokaido
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
五十三次名所图会 四十三 桑名 七里渡船
Kuwana, from the series of Pictures of Famous Places of the 53 Station (Upright Tokaido)
1855
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36cm x 25cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36cm x 25cm
品相完好；颜色鲜艳；有一处非常小的虫洞
Fine condition; strong colour; one very small wormhole
SOLD
从江户到京都的东海道沿线有许多渡口，通常都是徒步涉水而过，但在桑名市可行不通。沿着这条路线的第43个城镇或“驿站”，这是最长的，17英里，你只能乘渡船过岸。这幅来自《竖绘东海道》的设计，广重向我们展示了一个刮着大风的日子，桅杆和帆上的绳索被风拉得紧实，渡船上满载着的旅客和货物，城镇的庄严形态在远处若隐若现。旅行者很可能正在享受难得的休息——至少他们的脚是这样的。但过了这个渡口，他们很快要回到陆地上开始新一轮的行走，京都就快到了。
《五十三次名所图会》又称《竖绘东海道》，是广重第一个使用纵向构图的系列。在这里他通过描绘饱满的渡船的桅杆强调画面的高度。此次为大家呈现的是一幅非常早期的版本，色彩强烈，边缘完整，唯一的一个小问题是一个小虫洞。(祝你找到它!)
Travellers along the Tokaido from Edo to Kyoto had many water crossings, often fording them by foot. But not the one at Kuwana, the 43rd town or "station" along the route. This was the longest -- 17 miles. You could only cross via ferry. In this design from the Upright Tokaido, Hiroshige shows us a big blowy day, with the ferry's sail full, and the stately form of Kuwana Castle looming in the distance. The lines up to the mast and sail are strung taut by the force of the wind.
Travellers are probably enjoying a break from all that walking -- at least, their feet are. Soon they will be back on dry land and back on their feet -- but Kyoto is drawing ever closer.
The "Upright Tokaido" was one of Hiroshige's first ventures into using the vertical oban-tat-e format for landscapes. Here he emphasises the height of his image with the mast of the ferry.
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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.