Hasui 川瀬 巴水: Horai Rocks on the Kiso River 木曾川蓬莱岩 (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 川瀬 巴水 (1883-1957)
Title: Horai Rocks on the Kiso River 木曾川蓬莱岩
Date: 1928 (Showa 3)
Size: ôban (39 x 26.1 cm)

A sailboat catches the wind between a forested cliff and a rocky outcropping, heading left on the Kiso River, its sail full. The white sail has been embellished with blindprinting to create the pattern of the sewn squares of the sail, an unusual touch on a Hasui work. The rocks in the foreground have distinctive, somewhat geometric formations, and are done in a completely different color scheme than the cliffs on the opposite shore, which are shown in grey. The geology of this feature must be most interesting. The Kiso River flows through Nagano, Gifu, Aichi and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay, near the city of Nagoya. Regarding this exact viewpoint on the river, Hasui often titled his works with colloquial place names that are sometimes difficult to pinpoint today. The expert techniques used by the printers in creating the textures of this work are varied, and include a perfectly smooth sky, roughly textured rocks, medium-textured rocks and a rippling yet glassy river surface. For this work to be in mint condition, as here, the clouds in the sky still have a glowing pink color and the vegetation at the top of the cliff have a brilliant, vibrant yellow atop the green. With the earliest Watanabe seal used during this period, right, used between 1924-1930, making this a first edition.

Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô (with the earliest seal for this print.)
Literature: Hotei 138. See National Museum of Asian Art, Art Institute of Chicago, VMFA museum collections.
Signature: Hasui with Kawase seal
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Mint.

SKU: HAC138H