ANDO HIROSHIGE OSHIYAMA TEMPLE WOODBLOCK PRINT ESTATE SALE FIND

Description

ANDO HIROSHIGE OSHIYAMA TEMPLE WOODBLOCK PRINT. ESTATE SALE FIND. ANDO HIROSHIGE 1797 TO 1858. PART OF A SERIES OF THE SIXTY ODD PROVINCES.
The moon illuminates Seta River flowing into Lake Biwa, unveiling the beautiful night view. Teahouses surround the shore marking the edge of the Ishiyama Temple grounds which is set on the side of a mountain. The Seta Bridge can be seen halfway along the river. On the far right, thick clouds partly cover the Mount Ibuki, the highest mountain of Omi Province.
Ishiyama Temple complex was constructed around 747 and it takes its name from wollastonite mineral that appears there. The temple was a popular pilgrimage in Murasaki Shikibu's times. The court lady is said to have begun writing The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) at this very temple on the night of the full moon in 1004, Heian period. On this occasion, the temple maintains a Genji room featuring a life-size figure of Lady Murasaki.
PRINT FORMAT OBAN(VERTICAL)
Hiroshige I Utagawa was a woodblock print artist best known for his landscape prints and considered as one of the greatest Japanese artists in ukiyo-e history to have influenced Western impressionists, such as Van Gogh and Claude Monet. Born in Edo (today’s Tokyo), he started sketching from an early age and was later accepted into Toyokuni I Utagawa’s highly successful studio mostly under the guidance of Toyohiro Utagawa (1773-1828), from whom he would adopt his art name. He also took nanga painting lessons that had a great influence on his later work.
In 1831 his first landscape series ‘Famous Places of The Eastern Capital’ (Toto Meisho) was published and the following year Hiroshige passed on his family responsibilities to his relatives to dedicate his entire energy to printmaking. In 1832, it is said that Hiroshige was appointed by Bakufu, the feudal government of Japan, to accompany an official procession from Edo to Kyoto along the Tokaido road. The artist made many sketches during this journey, resulting in the production of his most acclaimed series ‘Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road’, although some of the designs are based on older available images. To be noted that it was rare for an artist (and regular people in general) to be able to travel and sketch landscapes from life during the Edo period, which makes some scholars believe that Hiroshige depicted most scenes entirely from his imagination.
The ten-year period of 1833-1843 is thought to have been Hiroshige’s most developed and innovative time as an artist. A lot of series that were produced during this time, such as ‘Sixty-nine Stations of Kisokaido Road’, ‘Eight Views of Omi’ and ‘Famous Places of Kyoto’, would lead to the peak of his career when he produced the ‘Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces’, ‘Thirty-six Views of Mt Fuji’ and his last great series, ‘One Hundred Famous Views of Edo’. In addition to his landscape prints, Hiroshige also designed kacho-ga (pictures of birds and flowers), bijinga (pictures of beautiful women), yakusha-e (pictures of actors), warriors and historical subjects.
Hiroshige’s prints are particularly sought for their perspective and excellent bokashi (colour gradation). Careful overprinting and shading of colours bring to life many natural elements such as the sky or water, rocks and mountains. An appreciation for wood pattern can also be noted in Hiroshige’s prints, with certain designs showing a unique texture and an organic quality deeply cherished by collectors. As many other reputable artists, he also had many students, some of the most famous being Hiroshige II Utagawa and Hirokage Utagawa.
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