<b>PAGODA OF IKEGAMI HONMONJI TEMPLE</b> / Kawase Hasui1928<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

The sun is quickly setting at Honmonji temple. Overhead, the darkening skies pay host to a fleeting crimson while the greens of the trees deepen and the ground’s gravel blacken. At the center of the composition, the temple’s pagoda glows warmly with the last embers of the day. The success of this design owes much to the masterful printing effects of Watanabe’s skilled craftsmen. The baren sujizuri (swirls) and bokashi (color gradation) found throughout the design, particularly seen in the trees and in the grounds below, give this impression a wonderful sense of texture and depth.

Kawase Hasui was quite fond of this subject, as he depicted temple complexes throughout his prolific career. Of those many designs, this work is the among most successful, as the long narrow tanzaku format is perfectly suited for this composition.

Connoisseur's Note

This work is the first state of the design as published by Watanabe. The impression bears the publisher’s “A-type” seal at the lower right margins. This design, executed in the long and narrow tanzaku format that is scarcely seen, as the artist only produced a handful of designs in this configuration. This impression is an excellent example of the design. Exhibiting fresh, untouched colors as sharp and vivid as the day it was printed.