Fritz Capelari: Sailboats at Matsushima (First and Only Edition) (RESERVED)

Artist: Fritz Capelari (1884-1940)
Title: Sailboats at Matsushima   Date: 1915

Wind fills the sails of boats gliding across the smooth bay, our vantage point a high cliff that includes an ancient pine at left. The frictionless movement of the boats brings to mind the great Hiroshige, and his similar talent at capturing such scenes. In the distance a puffy cloud that is reflecting yellow rises up on the horizon. Balancing the design at left is an ancient pine that perches atop a craggy cliff. Friedrich Capelari was an Austrian artist who studied at the Academy of Painting in Vienna in 1906. He departed for the far east in 1911, and in Japan he came to know Watanabe Shozaburo, who was looking for ways to revitalize woodblock printing. Watanabe was impressed by Capelari’s paintings, and Capelari became the first artist to work with Watanabe on what became some of the earliest shin hanga printed works. Within one year the two created twelve designs together, both landscapes and bijin-ga. This is a very scarce, pre-earthquake design. The artist also designed a print that was based on the view from another angle atop this cliff; it can be seen in the Muller Collection at the Smithsonian 

Condition: Excellent impression and color; very good condition. With smudges right margin and minor hinging remnants, upper verso. One rarely finds this work with the yellow in the clouds still so vibrant and strong. Dimensions: 25.6 x 39 cm
Publisher: Watanabe (seal lower left)
Seal: Circular artist’s seal reading FC followed by Tokyo 1915

SKU: CPC010S