Kiyochika: View of Confucian Temple, Yushima (Sold)

Artist: Kobayashi Kiyochika
Title: View of Confucian Temple, Yushima
Date: 1879

View of the Former Seido (Confucian Temple), Yushima. A lovely hilltop street view looking down on the lower city. The mixture of western syle and Japanese-style dress and accessories is interesting, as are the telegraph wires overhead and the unusual rendering of the cloudy sky and the bank of trees at left. Lengthening shadows were a favorite of Kiyochika, and add a strong feeling of drama. His figures do seem to feel a looming sense of isolation and anonymity in the quickly modernizing city. The faces here are largely turned away, and the central figure does not seem to be smiling, but rather winded from her uphill walk.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. Two longitudinal creases.
Dimensions: ôban horizontal
Publisher: Fukada Kumajirô
Literature: See Honolulu Academy of Art website.
Signature: unsigned

SKU: KYC106