Hiroshige 広重: Susaki in Shinagawa 品川 すさき

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige 広重 (1797-1858)
Title: Susaki in Shinagawa 品川 すさき

Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 名所江戸百景 Meisho Edo Hyakkei
Date: 1856

Perfectly peaceful view over Edo Bay, sailboats buoyant on the waveless water, a view of pristine balance and harmony. Lower right is Benten Susaki Shrine, protecting the Meguro River as it flows into Edo Bay. In the left corner we see two women on a verandah that belongs to the Shinagawa pleasure quarters. Hiroshige (in one of his books of scenery) noted that the music drifting up from the pleasure quarters formed attractive harmonies with the lapping of the waves against the shore. This dealer has only recently put together the fact that Hiroshige must have spent a great deal of time atop the fire watchtowers in his previous role as a fire warden, no doubt assisting in his superlative skill at these bird’s eye views. This is a beautiful and early impression, with exquisite woodgrain in the water and areas of mica applied to the design.

Condition: Excellent, impression, color and condition. One minor spot in sky, upper left.

Dimensions: ôban (36.6 x 25 cm)
Publisher: Uoya Eikichi
Literature: Henry Smith II: “Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”, plate 83. Andreas Marks, “Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo: The Definitive Collector’s Edition” (Tuttle, 2024), number 83, page 187.  See the Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum,  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Chazen Museum.

Signature: Hiroshige ga

SKU: HIR560