Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) | The complete set of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujuyoshu meisho zue) | Edo period, 19th century
Lot Closed
June 13, 01:09 PM GMT
Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 EUR
We may charge or debit your saved payment method subject to the terms set out in our Conditions of Business for Buyers.
Read more.Lot Details
Description
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
The complete set of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujuyoshu meisho zue)
Edo period, 19th century
the complete set of sixty-nine woodblock prints, plus the contents page, from the series Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujuyoshu meisho zue), each signed Hiroshige hitsu (Brush of Hiroshige), censor’s seal aratame (certified), published by Koshimuraya Heisuke, 1853-1859; each with collector's seal of Gerhard Pulverer to verso
Each vertical oban: each approx. 37.2 x 25.5 cm., 14⅝ x 10 in.
______________________________________________________________
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), Série complète des Vues célèbres des soixante et quelques provinces du Japon, époque Edo, XIXe siècle
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
Gerhard Pulverer (b. 1930)
J. Suzuki and J. Okubo, Rokujuyoshu meisho zue, Puruvera korekushon [Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces: The Pulverer Collection] (Tokyo, 1996).
Matthi Forrer, Hiroshige: Prints and Drawings (London, 1997), nos. 57-61. ('The Pine Beach at Miho in Suruga Province', 'The Small Port and the Inlet in Awa Province', 'The Yoro Waterfall in Mino Province', 'Rough Sea at the Whirlpools at Awa' and 'Amanoshashidate in Tango Province')
The complete set has been fully published in Marije Jansen, Hiroshige's Journey in the 60-odd Provinces (Amsterdam, 2004).
Royal Academy of Arts, London, Hiroshige: Prints and Drawings, 3 July - 28 September 1997. ('The Pine Beach at Miho in Suruga Province', 'The Small Port and the Inlet in Awa Province', 'The Yoro Waterfall in Mino Province', 'Rough Sea at the Whirlpools at Awa' and 'Amanoshashidate in Tango Province')
Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces marks Hiroshige’s first foray into the vertical landscape format. Comprising sixty-nine woodblock prints and a contents page, the series is noted for its extensive use of colouration, bokashi graduation and high vantage point compositions.
The series of sixty-nine prints was published over a period of three years between 1853-56. After its completion, the publisher, Koshimuraya Heisuke, issued a table of contents designed and compiled by the artist Baisotei Gengyo (1817-1880) entitled Dai Nippon rokujuyoshu meisho zue, or Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces of Great Japan. The prints were arranged in the conventional way with one group for the home provinces, and seven others named after the country’s main thoroughfares, such as the Tokaido and Kisokaido.
This set was purchased by the collector in the 1980s and formerly belonged to the well-known American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This collection is generally considered one of the finest sets consisting predominantly of first editions; only two examples cannot be considered as first-editions. The entire set has been published in Marije Jansen, Hiroshige's Journey in the 60-odd Provinces (Amsterdam, 2004).
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) was an American architect and designer. He was a pioneer of the Prairie School architectural movement, as well as the concept of the Usonian home. Outside of his sphere as an architect, Wright was also a prominent dealer, collector and connoisseur of Japanese art. Wright sold a legacy of his woodblock prints to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET) between 1918-22. Wright acquired an extensive collection of Japanese works of art on numerous visits to Japan during the construction of the second Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, in 1919-1923, and was profoundly inspired by Japanese graphic design.