<b>AUTUMN IN HAKKODASAN</b> / Hiroshi Yoshida1929<b>SOLD</b></em>
ARTIST: Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950)
TITLE: Autumn in Hakkodasan
DATE: 1929
MEDIUM: Woodblock print
DIMENSIONS: 15 1/2 x 10 3/8 inches
CONDITION: Pristine, no condition problems to note
PROVENANCE: Yoshida Family Collection
NOTE: Rare early trial printing; pencil signature—lifetime impression; this design was never issued with a Jizuri seal
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SOLD
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ARTIST: Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950)
TITLE: Autumn in Hakkodasan
DATE: 1929
MEDIUM: Woodblock print
DIMENSIONS: 15 1/2 x 10 3/8 inches
CONDITION: Pristine, no condition problems to note
PROVENANCE: Yoshida Family Collection
NOTE: Rare early trial printing; pencil signature—lifetime impression; this design was never issued with a Jizuri seal
.
SOLD
.
ARTIST: Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950)
TITLE: Autumn in Hakkodasan
DATE: 1929
MEDIUM: Woodblock print
DIMENSIONS: 15 1/2 x 10 3/8 inches
CONDITION: Pristine, no condition problems to note
PROVENANCE: Yoshida Family Collection
NOTE: Rare early trial printing; pencil signature—lifetime impression; this design was never issued with a Jizuri seal
.
SOLD
.
Details
Hiroshi Yoshida was an accomplished hiker and mountaineer as much as he was an artist. Yoshida took full advantage of his travels and painted the important natural treasures he visited—all executed in the field, utilizing the plein air painting technique. Most of Yoshida's mountain designs were inspired by his expeditions and are based on oil or watercolor paintings he produced onsite. This accounts for the strong realism in the designs; a quality rarely encountered in Japanese prints.
Autumn in Hakkodasan is one of a handful of prints that featured this mountain range, and many contend this design is the most successful. The design features Mt. Hakkoda towering above a field erupting in bright autumn foliage. The mountain is depicted in convincing realism and is set against a foreground rendered in a rather soft and traditional Yoshida-watercolor-esque style. The juxtaposition of the two styles in a single composition is striking, while the bokashi, or color gradation, surrounding the mountain breathes life into the design.
Connoisseur's Note
This print is a rarely seen early impression of the design. The print bears a brush and pencil signature with the hand-written title in the bottom margin. As with all prints from this series, this design never bore a Jizuri seal but does feature an embossed signature and seal at the lower-left corner. The printing of this work differentiates itself from other known regular-issue impressions by its brighter coloration and bolder use of bokashi, or color gradation, in the mountain. This print required several additional printing blocks compared to the standard version to produce the intensity of colors and striking contrasting bokashi.
The rarity and expressive quality of this early experimental impression are exceptional. This impression was never framed or displayed for extended periods, ensuring the colors are in a pristine state of preservation, appearing as vivid today as they were the day the work was produced.
