Page 142 - September 21 2021 Important Japanese Art Christie's NYC

192 UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)

Kameido ume yashiki (Plum
estate, Kameido)

Woodblock print, from the series Meisho Edo
hyakkei (One hundred views of Edo), signed
Hiroshige ga, published by Uoya Eikichi, 11th
month 1857
Vertical oban: 13¬ x 9º in. (34.6 x 23.5 cm.)

$15,000-20,000

Umeyashiki is the name of a plum garden on the bank of the
Sumida River that drew large numbers of visitors to enjoy
the view and scent of the blossoming trees in early spring.
Hiroshige's striking design places the trunk and branches of a
plum tree boldly in the foreground. The shape of this particular
tree led to it becoming known as Resting Dragon Plum
(Garyubai), because its branches grew so long they re-entered the
earth. The viewer is obliged to look through the branches of the
tree and of those behind to see a group of visitors to the garden
admiring the blossoms from behind a fence. The unusual and
dramatic vantage point and bold use of color are characteristics
that inspired 19th-century artists such as Vincent van Gogh,
Claude Monet and James McNeill Whistler and in many cases
dramatically influenced their work. Another impression of this
particular print was acquired by van Gogh and inspired him
to such an extent that, along with A Sudden Shower over Ohashi
and Atake by Hiroshige, he produced his own version in oil,
Flowering Plum Orchard (after Hiroshige), 1887, now in the Van
Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Flowering Plum Orchard: After
Hiroshige. France. 1887. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.