Page 60 - September 21 2021 Important Japanese Art Christie's NYC

PROPERTY FROM THE SPRINGFIELD MUSEUMS
(LOTS 24-83)

35 UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)

Kisoji no yamakawa (Mountain

river on the Kiso Road)

Woodblock print, triptych, signed Hiroshige
hitsu on the right sheet, published by
Okazawaya Taheiji, 8th month 1857
Vertical oban triptych: 14¿ x 9Ω in. (36 x 24.1
cm.) each approx. (3)

$8,000-12,000

PROVENANCE:
Raymond A. Bidwell (1876-1954), Springfield,
Massachusetts

EXHIBITED:
“Ukiyo-e from The Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA”,
exh. cat. p. 60-61, no. 98, exhibited at the following
venues:
Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo, 4 June-3 July, 1994
Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, 16
July-21 August, 1994
Yokkaichi Municipal Museum, Mie Prefecture, 1 September-4
October, 1994

A sweeping panoramic view of the Kiso River blanketed in thick
winter snow. The sparse palette of paper white, deep blue, and a
soft ink tone, serve to accentuate the immensity of the snowfall
in this dramatic landscape. The narrow gorge by the Kiso River
is one of the most strenuous stretches of the Kisokaido Road.
Hiroshige conveys the sheer scale of the rough vertiginous path
through the clusters of towering mountains, with the most central
peak extending beyond the frame of the composition. This print is
generally believed to represent the ‘snow’ installment of the artist’s
last series concerning snow, moon and flowers (setsugekka), three
acknowledged forms of natural beauty. The other two in the series
are Moon at Kanazawa, and Whirlpools at Awa.