TAKAHASHI SHOTEI: ONAGI RIVER

拍品描述

TAKAHASHI SHOTEI: ONAGI RIVER By Takahashi Shotei (1871-1945), signed with seal Shotei Japan, c. 1920 Color woodblock print on paper. Set inside a frame, behind glass. Vertical mitsugiriban. Signed with seal Shotei; publisher Watanabe Shozaburo. Title Onagigawa (Onagi River). Two silhouetted figures appear like shadows at a stand selling soba; noodles made primarily with buckwheat flour. The fronds of a tall willow tree, rendered in draping brush strokes overhang the bank as a boat passes by under a bridge. SIZE of the sheet 38.6 x 17.3 cm, SIZE incl. frame 54.5 x 23.5 cm Approximately 5 km long, the Onagi River is a man-made waterway that crosses the northern part of the Koto Ward, Tokyo, connecting the Sumida River and the Kyunaka River from east to west. The canal was constructed by order of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) in the early Edo period (1603-1868). It was soon recognized as an important thoroughfare for the ferrying of produce and was subsequently widened, later becoming a vital route for the transport of vegetables from nearby farming villages. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the area along the Onagi River became industrialized, with various trades utilizing it for the transport of raw materials. Takahashi Shotei (1871-1945), also known as Hiroaki, was a prominent Japanese woodblock print artist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for his landscape prints, particularly those featuring scenic views of Japan's countryside and urban scenes of Tokyo during the Taisho and Showa periods. Shotei's prints are characterized by their simple yet evocative style, with a focus on naturalistic details and atmospheric effects. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related print, with a similar artist’s seal, at Sotheby’s, Landscape to City: A Collection of 20th Century Japanese Prints, 18 November 2022, London, lot 5 (mid-estimate for GBP 2,500 or approx. EUR 3,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).

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