Hiroshige | River Oi, 36 Views of Mt. Fuji
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
富士三十六景 駿遠大井川
River Oi, from the series of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
1858
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36cm x 25.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36cm x 25.5cm
早期的版次；品相非常好
Early impression; good condition; light soiling in margins.
$3,800.00
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。大井川，发源于静冈县间岳的一条河流，全长约168公里，流域面积约1280平方公里，自古以来便被人们当作了骏河国与远江国的天然国界线。江户初期，为进一步强化河流渡涉管理，幕府在河道边设立了两处管理机构——岛田、金谷川会所。所内工作人员除负责渡河的收费管理与顺序分配外，还会测量每日的河水深度，一旦水深超过人夫的肩膀，就会发布禁令停止渡河。又是一个热闹的渡河日，大井川中人潮涌动。前景右方，几名精壮人夫咬紧牙关，抬着平板轿笼，正护送一位美人渡河；在他们左侧的稍远处，两位旅行的女子坐在木质渡台上谈笑风生。在河对岸的岛田宿一侧，一支大名队伍伴随着行李担子，似乎已等候多时。背景内，幕府修建的防洪堤绿树环绕，与连绵的青山一道，衬得远处的富士灰暗了不少。值得一提的是，大井川的数百名人夫都是官家直管的“体制内”人员。所以相较于东海道上的众多“散户”云助（宿场体力劳动者）而言，身份要明朗不少，工作也稳定得多。
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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.