<b>GEISHA IN SUMMER</b>Fujo Uedac. Early 1950s$3,500</em>

Details

Fujo Ueda was born in Kobe in 1899. He studied with the Kansei artist Kitano Tsunetomi, where he learned the art of bijin-ga, or portraits of beautiful women. While in Tokyo after the war, he studied under the Sosaku Hanga artist Koshiro Onchi. It was during his time with Onchi that Ueda learned a more spirited and emotion-driven printing process which yielded a looser and more spontaneous quality in his designs displaying elements of abstraction. His mature style is a sophisticated synthesis of his experience with both print artists.

In this design, we have a seated woman in a summer kimono holding a fan. The likeness is sophisticated, reserved, and formal. The woman faces the viewer's left, displaying her profile for us to admire. Ueda placed careful attention on showcasing her festive blue polka dot kimono: the shading and folds of her garment are particularly well executed, giving a striking lifelike effect. The lively background of the design reads completely different. Large, almost balloon-like circles populate much of the composition, while thick applications of blue and green pigment oscillate between the shapes, creating an astonishing sense of movement. The dynamism of the circular forms brings the figure forward and effectively creates a three-dimensionality not often seen in Japanese prints. The formality of the portrait might seem at odds with the lively background. However, Ueda’s treatment of the kimono with its festive blue polka dots anchors the portrait and effectively fuses it with the background, creating a unified composition.

This striking composition is clearly a well-articulated incorporation of Ueda’s experience with both Tsunetomi and Onchi. The portrait’s reserved but lifelike quality is clearly Tsunetomi’s own aesthetic. However, the dynamic and impassioned background, with its geometric forms and thick and spontaneous applications of colors, is unquestionably Onchi's direct influence.

Connoisseur's Note

This exceedingly rare print is not numbered but is known in a handful of impressions. Another example is located at the Canton Museum of Art. This impression is in a fine state of preservation with sharp and vivid colors. The fine silver mica applied on the woman’s fan is still intact.