Toyohisa 豊久: Fireworks Over Ryogoku Bridge Perspective Picture

Artist: Utagawa Toyohisa (active 1801-1818)
Title: Uki-e of Fireworks Over Ryogoku Bridge
Date: ca 1805-1815

An Elegant Modern Perspective Picture of Ryogoku [Bridge] (Furyu uki-e ryogoku no zu). Crowds throng Ryogoku Bridge on a summer evening for the fireworks display. We also see many stalls lining the riverbank and pleasure boats plying the waters. The exploding fireworks have been rendered in an abstracted way that feels almost modern. Toyohisa was a student of Utagawa Toyoharu, founder of the Utagawa school. Toyoharu was known for his uki-e, perspective pictures, of famous places in Edo, and he was also very interested in western ideas when it came to perspective. Here we see Toyohisa employing the strong receding perspective that uki-e prints are celebrated for. The firework completely fills the sky from edge to edge. The figures towards the front of the picture are markedly larger than the ones further back, although there is definitely artistic license when it comes to getting every aspect of the spacial scale integrated.

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. 
Dimensions: ôban (26 x 38.2 cm)
Publisher: Yamamoto Kyubei
Literature: See Achenbach Foundation, FAMSF for their example (which is in inferior condition to this one.)
Signature: Toyohisa ga

SKU: TYC010S