Hiroshige | Kuzuha Sellers and Others, Views of the Flourishing Joruri District
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
浄琉璃町繁花の図 葛の葉ほか
Kuzuha Sellers and Others, from the series of Views of the Flourishing Joruri District
1852
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 38cm x 26cm
Woodblock | Oban tate-e｜38cm x 26cm
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好
Fine impression, color and condition
$2,800
《净琉璃町繁花之图》，是歌川广重于1852年推出的人物戏画锦绘系列，全套共计七张，为观者展现了一个由净琉璃及歌舞伎剧目角色构成的“净琉璃町”世界。那些平日里在舞台上表演的鲜活形象，此刻却一一扮作了摆摊叫卖的商贩与客人，题材新颖，妙趣横生。
由于江户后期町人文化发展鼎盛，歌舞伎、净琉璃、浮世绘等多种町人文化的代表形式也呈现出相互交融的特征，本系列就是一个十分典型的例子。在这三张作品中，江户子们能看到大量熟悉的物件与人物形象：书法家小野道风带着标志性的雨伞站在木雕蛙玩具摊前讨价还价；日本第一剑客宫本武藏正准备接过剑圣冢原卜传递来的木质锅盖；恶贼斧定九郎本性不改，满脸狰狞地倒握着一把出售中的油纸伞……种种暗藏关联却又十分无厘头的小场景一个个聚合，在彰显着町人文化与生活方式所释放出的强大魅力的同时，也让观者可一览广重那幽默随性的一面。那些龇牙咧嘴或者笑容可掬的小表情，真是让人怎么看也看不够。
Hiroshige, the master of lyrical landscapes, could have a little fun when he wanted to, and in this print and others from his 1852 series “Flourishing Business in Joruri Town” he gives us some Edo-era comedy.
Famous names and faces from Japanese history and theater are turned into vendors in a fictional town. Theatergoers at the time will recognize these characters, and be amused that they’ve been re-costumed and plunked into this busy square with new roles. A “Joruri” was a narrated play.
For Hiroshige, it’s a change – his figures are usually secondary to the landscape they inhabit. But here they are front and center. Perhaps they are not as elegantly drawn as Hokusai’s people, but there is no denying they are full of life and comic energy. This is an especially strong impression of this rare and unusual series.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
浄琉璃町繁花の図 葛の葉ほか
Kuzuha Sellers and Others, from the series of Views of the Flourishing Joruri District
1852
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 38cm x 26cm
Woodblock | Oban tate-e｜38cm x 26cm
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好
Fine impression, color and condition
$2,800
《净琉璃町繁花之图》，是歌川广重于1852年推出的人物戏画锦绘系列，全套共计七张，为观者展现了一个由净琉璃及歌舞伎剧目角色构成的“净琉璃町”世界。那些平日里在舞台上表演的鲜活形象，此刻却一一扮作了摆摊叫卖的商贩与客人，题材新颖，妙趣横生。
由于江户后期町人文化发展鼎盛，歌舞伎、净琉璃、浮世绘等多种町人文化的代表形式也呈现出相互交融的特征，本系列就是一个十分典型的例子。在这三张作品中，江户子们能看到大量熟悉的物件与人物形象：书法家小野道风带着标志性的雨伞站在木雕蛙玩具摊前讨价还价；日本第一剑客宫本武藏正准备接过剑圣冢原卜传递来的木质锅盖；恶贼斧定九郎本性不改，满脸狰狞地倒握着一把出售中的油纸伞……种种暗藏关联却又十分无厘头的小场景一个个聚合，在彰显着町人文化与生活方式所释放出的强大魅力的同时，也让观者可一览广重那幽默随性的一面。那些龇牙咧嘴或者笑容可掬的小表情，真是让人怎么看也看不够。
Hiroshige, the master of lyrical landscapes, could have a little fun when he wanted to, and in this print and others from his 1852 series “Flourishing Business in Joruri Town” he gives us some Edo-era comedy.
Famous names and faces from Japanese history and theater are turned into vendors in a fictional town. Theatergoers at the time will recognize these characters, and be amused that they’ve been re-costumed and plunked into this busy square with new roles. A “Joruri” was a narrated play.
For Hiroshige, it’s a change – his figures are usually secondary to the landscape they inhabit. But here they are front and center. Perhaps they are not as elegantly drawn as Hokusai’s people, but there is no denying they are full of life and comic energy. This is an especially strong impression of this rare and unusual series.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
浄琉璃町繁花の図 葛の葉ほか
Kuzuha Sellers and Others, from the series of Views of the Flourishing Joruri District
1852
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 38cm x 26cm
Woodblock | Oban tate-e｜38cm x 26cm
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好
Fine impression, color and condition
$2,800
《净琉璃町繁花之图》，是歌川广重于1852年推出的人物戏画锦绘系列，全套共计七张，为观者展现了一个由净琉璃及歌舞伎剧目角色构成的“净琉璃町”世界。那些平日里在舞台上表演的鲜活形象，此刻却一一扮作了摆摊叫卖的商贩与客人，题材新颖，妙趣横生。
由于江户后期町人文化发展鼎盛，歌舞伎、净琉璃、浮世绘等多种町人文化的代表形式也呈现出相互交融的特征，本系列就是一个十分典型的例子。在这三张作品中，江户子们能看到大量熟悉的物件与人物形象：书法家小野道风带着标志性的雨伞站在木雕蛙玩具摊前讨价还价；日本第一剑客宫本武藏正准备接过剑圣冢原卜传递来的木质锅盖；恶贼斧定九郎本性不改，满脸狰狞地倒握着一把出售中的油纸伞……种种暗藏关联却又十分无厘头的小场景一个个聚合，在彰显着町人文化与生活方式所释放出的强大魅力的同时，也让观者可一览广重那幽默随性的一面。那些龇牙咧嘴或者笑容可掬的小表情，真是让人怎么看也看不够。
Hiroshige, the master of lyrical landscapes, could have a little fun when he wanted to, and in this print and others from his 1852 series “Flourishing Business in Joruri Town” he gives us some Edo-era comedy.
Famous names and faces from Japanese history and theater are turned into vendors in a fictional town. Theatergoers at the time will recognize these characters, and be amused that they’ve been re-costumed and plunked into this busy square with new roles. A “Joruri” was a narrated play.
For Hiroshige, it’s a change – his figures are usually secondary to the landscape they inhabit. But here they are front and center. Perhaps they are not as elegantly drawn as Hokusai’s people, but there is no denying they are full of life and comic energy. This is an especially strong impression of this rare and unusual series.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
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.