Description: Found at the estate sale of someone who travelled extensively and loved Asian artwork, this vintage hand-carved and hand-printed Japanese woodblock print is a later edition of Hiroshige’s famous 1857 “Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake”. It’s #58 from his series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”. The colors are bright and the details are sharp. The paper is 10.5” x 15.5” (27 x 39 cm) and the image area is 9.125” x 14” (23.5 x 36 cm). The second photo shows a 12” ruler for scale. This woodblock print was never matted or framed but instead was at some point hung on a wall with a thumbtack. As a result the paper, which is slightly yellowed, has shallow creases and a small hole at the top. Many of these creases are inconspicuous except at certain angles of light and are more evident in the photo of the back. “Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake” is one of Hiroshige’s most famous prints. Vincent Van Gogh admired it so much that he painted a version of it in oil. Due to its popularity after its original publication in 1857 it was subsequently reprinted in several variant impressions made using the same woodblocks but with different applications of color. It was also reprinted in several variant states, with changes to the actual woodblocks. These variant states include both ordinary impressions and more elaborate deluxe ones to which dramatic dark storm clouds have been added along the top margin as well as in the water to the left of the bridge. This vintage woodblock print appears to me to be a later reproduction of one of these deluxe impressions. As is unfortunately all too often the case at estate sales, I wasn't able to learn anything about the exact age or history of this marvelous woodblock print, which appears to me to be at least 50 years old. The top two seals in the lower left margin are the 1857 date seals that were in the upper right margin of the original print. The large seal below them is Hiroshige’s signature. The two groups of 4 characters below the seals in the lower left margin may give information about the publisher. Beneath them is an indistinct small round seal that appears to have been applied by hand using blue ink. Some of the colors of this impression are lighter than in other variants. One of the woodblocks appears to have been out of registration because there’s a narrow band of light tan along the right edge of the image (see photos). There’s also a small printing defect at the right edge (see detail photo). If you're dissatisfied with this vintage woodblock print in any way, you can return it in the same condition in which you received it within 30 days for a full refund. Washington state residents pay 10% state and local sales tax. Choice of shipping by USPS Parcel Select or Priority Mail with no extra handling charge in either case.
Price: 249.95 USD
Location: Seattle, Washington
End Time: 2024-11-13T05:13:34.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Production Technique: Woodblock Printing
Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
Subject: Landscape
Size: Medium (up to 36in.)
Framed/Unframed: Unframed
Material: Woodcut & Block
Print Surface: Paper
Artist: Hiroshige
Original/Licensed Reprint: Open Edition Print
Edition Type: Open Edition
Style: Asian
Color: Multi-Color
Signed: Unsigned
Type: Print
