Landscape to City: A Collection of 20th Century Japanese Prints
Landscape to City: A Collection of 20th Century Japanese Prints
Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) | Lake Kamo under Moonlight, Sado Island (Getsumei no Kamo-ko, Sado) | Taisho period, early 20th century
A rare group of pre-earthquake prints
Lot Closed
November 18, 02:19 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 10,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
Lake Kamo under Moonlight, Sado Island (Getsumei no Kamo-ko, Sado)
Taisho period, early 20th century
woodblock print, from the series Souvenirs of Travel II (Tabi miyage dai nisshu), signed Hasui, and with artist’s pre-earthquake diamond-shaped seal, publisher’s circular seal Watanabe (Watanabe Shozaburo), dated Taisho ju, hachi, juroku (16th August 1921)
Horizontal oban: 28.3 x 38.6 cm., 10⅜ x 15¼ in.
The early landscapes of Hasui often depict far removed parts of the Japanese countryside. Casting these vistas in the throes of twilight, rain or in the still darkness of night, these isolated viewpoints stand in place of the artist or viewer, submitting us to the vast magnitude and monumentality of the natural world. Here, the quiet of Lake Kamo is illuminated by a silvery white moonlight extending up unto the base of the towering mountain ridge. The subtle use of gradation contributes a breadth of space and depth to the scene, rendering a feeling of awe at this hallowed mountain range in the night blue landscape.
For further reading on Hasui’s early works, see Kendall H. Brown and Hollis Goodall-Cristante, Shin-hanga: New Prints in Modern Japan, (Los Angeles, 1996), p. 19
For another impression of the same print in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 2002.161.66.1, go to:
https://collections.artsmia.org/art/62483/moonlight-over-lake-kamo-kawase-hasui
For a further impression in the collection of the Edo-Tokyo Museum, collection ID 94203182, go to: