Hiroshige | Night View of Matsuchiyama and the San'ya Canal, 100 Famous Views of Edo
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
名所江户百景 真乳山山谷堀夜景
Night View of Matsuchiyama and the San'ya Canal from the series of 100 Famous Views of Edo
1858
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36.5cm x 25.4cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36.5cm x 25.4cm
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好
Strong, rich color; woodgrain and mica and fine bokashi; great condition
$5,200
《名所江户百景》，是歌川广重于1856至1858年创作的竖版名所绘系列，为广重晚年乃至整个创作生涯中艺术水准最高的代表作之一。全系列包括目录在内共计119幅，以四季为主题，分为了春夏秋冬四部。本作分属于春之部，是全系列唯一描绘樱花凋落后，新叶萌发枝头的“叶樱”之景的作品。夜幕如漆，群星璀璨，静谧的隅田堤上，叶樱正盛，在灯笼的指引下，一位艺伎徐徐而行。越过洒满星光的隅田川，来到对岸的山谷堀和待乳山（真乳山），只见桥墩的今户桥两侧料亭密布，灯火闪烁，宴席谈笑声仿佛就在耳畔。那些停泊在岸边的猪牙舟和屋形船，正是江户子们往来于此的必备交通工具。酒足饭饱后，他们便会沿着山谷堀的堤坝大道，徒步前往下一站玩乐之所——吉原游廓。值得一提的是，在安政3年（1856），一场大型台风袭击了江户城，许多建筑物都遭到不同程度的破坏，今户桥附近的一众料亭也难以幸免；但就在本作出版的1857年8月，也就是风灾发生的次年，修葺一新的间间料亭又重回繁荣景象。在叶樱枝头，想必也寄托着广重对未来的美好希望。
In this nocturnal, dream-like vision from Hiroshige’s last great series, we gaze across the Sumida River to Matsuchiyama Hill, the San'ya Canal and Imado Bridge. The lights of two restaurants, evocatively rendered in relief, becken us. The sky is an inky black, and the stars shine brightly — and in the river water. You can almost hear the distant laughter of a boozy night in Edo.
In the foreground, on our shore, a geisha walks behind her unseen attendant, who lights her way with a lantern. Some posit that it could be Koman, a favorite of Hiroshige, but others suggest that’s not possible because she’s too vulger — as suggested by the bright red of her inner skirt. In any event, she is one of very few full-length portraits in “100 Famous Views of Edo.”
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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.