<b>WINTER IN AIZU</b> / Kiyoshi Saito1958$1,800</em>

Details

This design recalls Kiyoshi Saito's childhood in Aizu. Born in this region, the artist left for Hokkaido with his family at four years of age. Saito reminisced that his early childhood years in Aizu were austere, quiet, and magical. The artist had an enduring fondness for the region, as he returned to Aizu in the 1970s to work and live out his last years.

This early Aizu landscape from the late 1950s displays a rustic naïve charm. The design is composed of black, grays, and the natural tone of the paper. Despite its limited palette, the landscape is a magical kaleidoscope of white with rhythmic patterns of woodgrain Saito so expertly weaves throughout the composition. The lone figure in the center carries a bundle of wood, presumably for a fire, as its wines down the snow-filled path. Saito has worked over the woodblock with gauges that streak across the surface of the printing block that gives a sense of texture and depth to the rolling hills overhead.

Connoisseur's Note

This work is an early Winter in Aizu design originally published in 1958; Saito's most coveted Aizu designs belong to this period. Due to the strength of the designs and their large format, most of the prints were framed. Unfortunately, many impressions that come to market display the years of poor treatment at the hand of improper framing techniques or sunlight exposure. This impression was never framed or displayed for extended periods of time, ensuring the colors are in a pristine state of preservation and making this print even more desirable. This print appears as vivid today as the day the work was produced.