Hiroshige II · Views of Famous Places in Edo · Negishi ·...

二代歌川広重 — UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE II (1826–1869) The Pine of the Imperial Procession (御行の松, Miyuki no matsu) From: Views of Famous Places in Edo (江戸名勝圖會, Edo meishō zue) Technique: Woodblock print (mokuhanga), polychrome (nishiki-e) on Japanese washi Date: 1862 (Bunkyū 2), 3rd month Publisher: Fujiokaya Keijirō (藤岡屋慶次郎, Shōrindō) Censor: Combined aratame and date seal, Dog year 3rd month (戌三改) Carver: Hori Chō (彫長, Katada Chōjirō) Signature: Hiroshige (廣重) Format: Ōban tate-e (approx. 36 × 24 cm / 14 × 9.75 in.) CONDITION The colours are very well preserved with the dark colors dominate the sheet and the impression reads well with some fading and light creases across the sheet. The paper is soft. The margins outside the image area are trimmed. Good overall. Please check the images carefully! The Place — The Great Pine of Negishi Negishi lay at the foot of the Ueno plateau, just north of the Kan'ei-ji temple grounds. In the Edo period it was known as a quiet retreat where writers and men of taste kept country houses, and it was famous for its bush warblers (uguisu). The great pine stood beside a Fudō hall belonging to Saizō-in, a Shingon temple of the district. People called it the "Great Pine of Negishi", it was said to be visible from Ueno, and it was already illustrated in the Edo guidebook Edo meisho zue of the 1830s. The tree still has a successor on the same site today, and the roots of the original pine are preserved there. The Series — Hiroshige II's Survey of Edo Hiroshige II was born Suzuki Chinpei and trained as the leading pupil of Hiroshige I under the name Shigenobu. After his master's death in 1858 he took over the name Hiroshige. He designed this series for the publisher Fujiokaya Keijirō from 1862 onward. Each sheet pairs a view of a famous Edo site with a descriptive text in a cartouche, much as the illustrated guidebooks of the time did. It is regarded as his most important set of Edo views. Impressions of this sheet are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Estimate:£211.28

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