<b>WINTER IN AIZU PAINTING</b> / Kiyoshi Saitoc. 1980<b>SOLD</b></em>
ARTIST: Kiyoshi Saito (1907-1997)
TITLE: Winter in Aizu
MEDIUM: Sumi-e
DATE: c. 1980
DIMENSIONS: 18 x 23 3/4 inches
CONDITION: No condition problems to note
LITERATURE: Kiyoshi Saito Museum: Collection of Works, Kiyoshi Saito Museum, Yanaizu, 2003
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Details
In this rare Saito sumi-e, we have the artist presenting a stunning view of Aizu, his hometown, in the depths of winter. Saito claimed to be a frustrated oil painter at the beginning of his career.
Saito certainty proved himself a master of woodblock prints. Perhaps time helped ease Saito’s frustrations by also making him an exceptional sumi-e painter, as this painting demonstrates. Subtle tonalities of gray wash the background with the unfolding depth of night as the white of the paper stands in bold contrast, illuminating the foreground with the brilliance of freshly fallen snow in the moonlight. The scene is timeless, spellbinding, and captivating—the viewer is trapped, much like the figure in the scene, left to explore the unraveling depths of the snow.
Connoisseur's Note
Saito’s original work is extraordinarily rare. Most of his paintings were produced as commissions and typically don’t come up for sale. This painting is a wonderful example of the artist’s sumi-e work and a rare opportunity to acquire an original painting by this 20th-century master.
