Masters of the Woodblock: Important Japanese Prints
Masters of the Woodblock: Important Japanese Prints
The Property of a Collector
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) | South Wind, Clear Weather (Gaifu kaisei), also known as Red Fuji | Edo period, 19th century
Lot Closed
July 21, 01:33 PM GMT
Estimate
280,000 - 350,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of a Collector
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
South Wind, Clear Weather (Gaifu kaisei), also known as Red Fuji
Edo period, 19th century
woodblock print, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei), signed Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu (Brush of Iitsu, changed from Hokusai), published by Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudo), circa late 1831; with collector's seal JLJ to verso
Horizontal oban: 25.5 x 37.5 cm., 10⅛ x 14¾ in.
Rising over the Pacific Ocean, the rosy light of dawn reddens the eastern side of Mount Fuji. Altocumulus clouds, sometimes described as iwashigumo [lit. sardine clouds], seem to drift northwards against a backdrop of Berlin blue pigment as if imitating a slow-moving shoal of fish in the sea. A bokashi [gradation] strip to the top evokes the lingering darkness of night, still present as day begins to break. Compared to the monumental scale of the mountain, the trees in the forest at its foot are dwarfed in size. The ‘southern breeze’, or gaifu of the title, is associated with late summer when the snow-capped top of Mount Fuji remains only as small rivulets.
Although the depiction of the mountain appears almost abstract, Hokusai desired specific effects in the printing. Observed from an easterly viewpoint, the first light of day falling on the upper slopes colours the volcanic ash a pinkish red. The summer sun rises north of east, hitting the conical stratovolcano at an oblique angle so that the light-struck area arcs and is lower to the right than the left.1 Nonetheless, Hokusai exaggerates the mountain’s slope so that it appears dramatically steeper, heightened by its asymmetrical placement.
Enigmatically reduced to its most fundamental elements, the economic yet impressive design is considered one of Hokusai’s most iconic works. Where Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), also known as The Great Wave (see Lot 31), takes centre stage as the most celebrated woodblock print in the West, this place is reserved domestically for ‘Red Fuji’ in Japan.
1. Timothy Clark, Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave, (London, 2017), p. 125, no. 53.
Similar impressions are housed in numerous museum collections, including:
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession no. 21.6756, go to:
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/234417
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), accession no. JP2960, go to:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/55736
The British Museum, accession no. 1906,1220,0.525, go to:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1906-1220-0-525