Hasui 巴水: Spring at Hibiya Park 日比谷公園の春 (First Edition) (SOLD)

Artist: Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883-1957)
Title: Spring at Hibiya Park 日比谷公園の春 (First Edition)

Date: 1936

A woman wearing a kimono walks with her daughter among the blooming azalea bushes in Hibiya Park in this colorful spring scene.  Rising behind them we see Hibiya Public Hall (Shisei Kaikan), which is in part a public facility and in part the offices of the Tokyo Institute of Municipal Research. Construction was completed in 1929, and it is still used today for concerts and other cultural activities. Narazaki’s notes on this image read as follows: “There are a number of contrastive elements in this image; the red azaleas on the green lawn, the grand building with a clock tower that looms over the green stand of trees, the shadow of the large tree cast on the pavement, and the back of a mother and daughter”.  With the prewar Watanabe “D” seal, right margin,  that was in use between 1932 and 1941, this may be considered a first edition. This series of prints was never finished, and six designs were published in total. With the “Made in Japan” stamp verso, which was applied to works intended for export in the 1930s

Condition: Excellent impression, color and condition. Mint.
Dimensions: aiban (34.5 x 24.6 cm)
Publisher: Watanabe Shôzaburô
Literature: Hotei/Brown #390. See Art Institute of Chicago LACMA museum collections. National Museum of Asian Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts collections.

Seal: Kawase    Signature: Hasui

SKU: HAC390H