Hasui 巴水: Rain At Omiya 雨の大宮 (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 巴水
Title: Rain At Omiya 雨の大宮
Date: 1930

Rain at Omiya (Miya no ame). This evocative work shows a rainy evening in a peaceful village in Saitama prefecture. The rain is a fine silver/white, and falls straight down, indicating that there is no wind at all. We can almost hear the crickets and other night-calling creatures. The many layers of scenery give the work depth, even though it is done almost entirely in shades of blue– we see the reeds in the foreground; the glittering water of the lake, more reeds, the homes; a row of trees; another layer of trees, and then the background sky. Everything is also gently overlaid with rain. Completely unfaded, the light at the window shines in an orange/yellow that beckons to the viewer. This work represents the unbeatable caliber of prewar Japanese printmaking and two of Hasui’s strongest suits; evening and rain. With a stamped seal verso with limited edition number (203/350). From the first limited edition, published by both Kawaguchi and Sakai, before the publishers went their separate ways. Provenance: Robert Muller Collection. 

SKU: HAC215K