歌川芳員 Utagawa Yoshikazu (active 1849-1867)
蓝摺绘：亚墨利加洲内华盛顿府之景铜板之写生
Aizuri-e: Sketch of a Copperplate Print of Washington D. C. in America
1861
木版画 | 三联续绘-纵绘大判 | 37cm x 25.5cm x 3
Woodblock-print |riptych-Oban-tate-e | 37cm x 25.5cm x 3
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；整体品相完好；轻微色变
Fine impression and color; slight discolouration, otherwise in good condition
When Japan opened to the West, with Yokohama near Tokyo being one of the first ports to admit foreigners, an era of mutual fascination began – Westerners hungered to learn all they could about Japan, and Japanese, long secluded from the world, were intrigued by the distant lands beyond their shores. But photography was in its infancy, and few Japanese could travel abroad. So how could their curiosity be rewarded?
Ukiyoe artists stepped in.
During the period of the late 1850s through the 1860s, woodblock print designers produced numerous images of foreign countries as they imagined them to be, often using scant evidence.
Utagawa Yoshikazu was a print designer who focused on Yokohama-e, works depicting foreigners and Yokohama port itself. But in this wonderful print, he lets his imagination take him across the planet to Washington DC. Apparently using a copperplate etching as inspiration, he gives the United States’ capital a vaguely European, Medieval vibe in the background, with women in hoop skirts and bearded, rough-looking men in the foreground.
Making this already fascinating print even more interesting is the fact that this work is from an extremely rare series of triptychs that were printed almost entirely in Prussian blue, a style known as aizuri-e. The varying shades of the same pigment give the print a quiet, dreamlike atmosphere.
当1859年横滨开港，日本第一次真正面对西方世界时，人们最想知道的问题之一便是：外国人究竟长什么样？他们住在哪里，又过着怎样的生活？歌川芳员(Utagawa Yoshikazu)正是最早回应这些好奇心的画家之一，也是横滨绘(Yokohama-e)最具代表性的画师。他创作了大量描绘外国人、横滨港与海外世界的作品，而这幅《亚墨利加洲内华盛顿府之景铜板之写生》，呈现的正是幕末日本人想象中的美国首都华盛顿。
画中的「铜版之写生」，芳员并非依据亲身所见，而是参考当时传入日本的西方铜版画进行创作。三联画中，身着异国服饰的男女、载货的牲畜，以及远处高耸的尖塔和西式建筑，共同组成了一个既陌生又充满想象的西洋世界。它并不是对华盛顿的写实记录：人物的面貌、服装和姿态仍带有鲜明的浮世绘特征，西方建筑也经过了日本画家的重新理解。这种现实资料与想象相互交织的画面，正是横滨绘最迷人的地方之一。
与一般色彩鲜艳的锦绘相比，本作是一组极为罕见的蓝摺三联续绘，几乎完全以普鲁士蓝印制。深浅不同的蓝色不仅塑造了人物和建筑，也赋予整幅作品一种安静而梦幻的气息。蓝摺(aizuri-e)本就远少于普通锦绘，而像这样完整保存下来的横滨绘蓝摺三联续，更是十分难得。
歌川芳員 Utagawa Yoshikazu (active 1849-1867)
蓝摺绘：亚墨利加洲内华盛顿府之景铜板之写生
Aizuri-e: Sketch of a Copperplate Print of Washington D. C. in America
1861
木版画 | 三联续绘-纵绘大判 | 37cm x 25.5cm x 3
Woodblock-print |riptych-Oban-tate-e | 37cm x 25.5cm x 3
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；整体品相完好；轻微色变
Fine impression and color; slight discolouration, otherwise in good condition
When Japan opened to the West, with Yokohama near Tokyo being one of the first ports to admit foreigners, an era of mutual fascination began – Westerners hungered to learn all they could about Japan, and Japanese, long secluded from the world, were intrigued by the distant lands beyond their shores. But photography was in its infancy, and few Japanese could travel abroad. So how could their curiosity be rewarded?
Ukiyoe artists stepped in.
During the period of the late 1850s through the 1860s, woodblock print designers produced numerous images of foreign countries as they imagined them to be, often using scant evidence.
Utagawa Yoshikazu was a print designer who focused on Yokohama-e, works depicting foreigners and Yokohama port itself. But in this wonderful print, he lets his imagination take him across the planet to Washington DC. Apparently using a copperplate etching as inspiration, he gives the United States’ capital a vaguely European, Medieval vibe in the background, with women in hoop skirts and bearded, rough-looking men in the foreground.
Making this already fascinating print even more interesting is the fact that this work is from an extremely rare series of triptychs that were printed almost entirely in Prussian blue, a style known as aizuri-e. The varying shades of the same pigment give the print a quiet, dreamlike atmosphere.
当1859年横滨开港，日本第一次真正面对西方世界时，人们最想知道的问题之一便是：外国人究竟长什么样？他们住在哪里，又过着怎样的生活？歌川芳员(Utagawa Yoshikazu)正是最早回应这些好奇心的画家之一，也是横滨绘(Yokohama-e)最具代表性的画师。他创作了大量描绘外国人、横滨港与海外世界的作品，而这幅《亚墨利加洲内华盛顿府之景铜板之写生》，呈现的正是幕末日本人想象中的美国首都华盛顿。
画中的「铜版之写生」，芳员并非依据亲身所见，而是参考当时传入日本的西方铜版画进行创作。三联画中，身着异国服饰的男女、载货的牲畜，以及远处高耸的尖塔和西式建筑，共同组成了一个既陌生又充满想象的西洋世界。它并不是对华盛顿的写实记录：人物的面貌、服装和姿态仍带有鲜明的浮世绘特征，西方建筑也经过了日本画家的重新理解。这种现实资料与想象相互交织的画面，正是横滨绘最迷人的地方之一。
与一般色彩鲜艳的锦绘相比，本作是一组极为罕见的蓝摺三联续绘，几乎完全以普鲁士蓝印制。深浅不同的蓝色不仅塑造了人物和建筑，也赋予整幅作品一种安静而梦幻的气息。蓝摺(aizuri-e)本就远少于普通锦绘，而像这样完整保存下来的横滨绘蓝摺三联续，更是十分难得。
