1871-1945
Saruhashi Bridge in Koshu Province
(Koshu Saruhashi)
with title and signature at right, Koshu, Saruhashi, Hiroaki, followed by red artist's seal no in(?), dated along bottom margin, Showa rokunen junigatsu saku Hiroaki jiga jikoku (Showa 6 [1931], 12th month, self-designed and self-carved by Hiroaki), with publisher's seal at lower left margin, Hanyen shoyu Fusui Gabo hakko (copyright owned by Fusui Gabo Company), 1931
otanzaku tate-e 20 3/4 by 9 1/8 in., 52.6 by 23.3 cm
Although Hiroaki declares after his signature 'jiga jikoku' (self-designed, self-carved), perhaps the assertion regarding 'jikoku' is more indicative of his direct involvement in the production of the block set and his approval of the printing as opposed to actually carving all of the blocks himself. This grand composition presented in a lavish format exemplifies the high quality of print production that the artists and artisans were able to achieve by the late 1920s and early 1930s, a highpoint for shin-hanga movement.
References:
Amy Reigle Stephens, gen. ed., The New Wave: Twentieth-century Japanese prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 1993, p. 113, pl. 93
Amy Reigle Newland, gen. ed., Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-Century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection, 2004, p. 44, no. 15
Hisao Shimizu, Syotei (Hiroaki) Takahashi, 2005, p. 66, no. 322
Hisao Shimizu, The Collected Print Works of Shotei Takahashi, A Modern Ukiyo-e Painter, 2006, no. 113 (and inside cover flap)
(inv. no. C-3214)
price: Sold