<b>SNOW AT TAMANOI</b> / Kazuma Oda1932<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

The snow continues to fall as the evening revilers head out to brave the elements. Oda Kazuma provides us with a stunning design, noteworthy for its beauty but also for its skillful means of accurately reproducing the atmosphere of a night’s snowfall. This accuracy is particularly compelling given the work is, in fact, a lithograph and not a woodblock print, which typically is better suited for depicting atmospheric qualities. In fact, Oda was quite successful in fashioning the design to read like a woodblock print.

At first blush, this design may not look modern, but the Western perspective, as well as the medium, gives away this work as one produced in the Modern Era by Japan's leading lithographer. Oda was fascinated by Japan's radical changing landscape, often depicting scenes of newly erected bridges, buildings, and the bustling nightlife of the city. This traditional subject, with no obvious signs of modernity, executed in 1932 amid Japan's rise in modernism, is a departure for Oda. The muted tones and traditional subject give this work a warmth that is familiar and nostalgic and perhaps a wistful longing for a more genteel and straightforward time.

Connoisseur's Note

This design is part of the series, Eight Views of Tokyo, self-printed in 1932 in an edition of 20 impressions. The striking design in an atypical subject and small edition size make this Oda a highly desirable work.