Hasui 巴水: Blue Version of Evening Snow, Edo River (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水
Title: Evening Snow, Edo River 暮るゝ雪（江戸川）
Date: 1932, February (this edition postwar lifetime)

Fururu yuki (Edogawa). Two beauties cross a wooden bridge spanning the Edo River. This is the blue version of this design, done in the spirit of Hiroshige’s “aizuri-e”, or pictures printed entirely in blue. The blocks used were the same as with the full-color version, so it was up to the unparalleled skill of the printer to create depth using expertly applied variation in the saturation of the applied pigment.

This work was published by Doi Hangaten in the years following the war, ca. late 1940s. [Another example of this design with these exact publisher’s seals was sold at Sotheby’s London in May 2021 for $11,600.] Definitely a lifetime edition.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition.
Dimensions: ôban 40 x 26.5 cm
Publisher: Doi Sadaichi
Literature: Hotei #270a
Seals: Kawase and Doi Hangaten, with Harada and Koto seals below. “Doi” watermark in paper at upper left corner.
Signature: Hasui

SKU: HAS594