Hiroshige | Sagami, Enoshima, Iwaya no kuchi, Famous Places in the 60 Odd Provinces
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
六十余州名所图会 相模 江之岛
Sagami, Enoshima, Iwaya no kuchi, from the series of Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces
1853
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36cm x 25cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36cm x 25cm
早期版次；颜色保存完好
Early impression; good color
SOLD
《六十余州名所图会》，是歌川广重于1853年至1856年创作的一套描绘日本名胜的竖绘风景画系列。全套共囊括了全日本五畿七道的68国及江户城的胜景，加上1页目录，共计70幅。整体画面远近关系明确，加之用色大胆、构图新颖，颇受后世好评。著名的《阿波 鸣门之风波（漩涡）》，即出自本系列。
相摸，即相模，日本古令制国之一，旧国境约覆盖今神奈川县大部。其内的江之岛是著名的游览胜地，风景绝佳，古迹众多，日本三大弁才天神社之一的江岛神社，正是坐落于此。
一浪接一浪的海水击打着岩崖，经年累月地掏蚀出凹穴，直至形成画面右侧如拱门般的岩屋。此处相传是弘法大师空海（774-835）与日莲宗创始人日莲上人（1222-1282）的修行地，至今仍被尊为江之岛信仰的中心。越过崖脊，岩屋左侧的那条羊肠小道，便是通往江岛神社的参道。其上挂着的条条纸帘，表明你已经踏入了神明的地界。纵然江之岛外风高浪急，船只难以航行，信众们前去参拜弁才天的脚步，也永远不会停息。
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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.