Hasui 川瀬 巴水: Snow on Miyajima 雪の宮島 (First Edition) (Sold)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 川瀬 巴水 (1883-1957)
Title: Snow on Miyajima 雪の宮島
Series: Souvenirs of Travel, Third Series 旅みやげ第三集
Date: 1928 (Showa 3)
Size: ôban (38.8 x 26 cm)

Snow on Miyajima. The famous "floating" vermilion entrance torii to Itukushima Shrine is pictured on a day of heavy snowfall, the fat flakes falling silently on a windless day. We see a man poling a boat while admiring the snow-covered  gate as he passes it. In the background, seen mistily through the haze of the snowy day is glimpsed a row of traditional inns and the shadow of the mountains on the opposite bank. As noted by Narazaki “The sea is calm and shallow; the waves are broken by the oars of the rowboat. The gate’s vermilion reflection plays on the surface of the ripples, and the gate’s colour effectively imbues the image with a warmness." Considered a first edition, with the earliest Watanabe seal for this period, in use only between 1924 and 1930. This is a completely unfaded work, one which has never been exposed to light or framed.

Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô 
Literature: Hotei/Brown #139. Fresh Impressions, Cat. 103, page 153. See AIC (Gift of Oliver Statler) online.

Signature: Hasui with Kawase seal
Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition.

SKU: HAS608