DRAGON IN CLOUDS (Utagawa Hiroshige)

N.1 fukkoku woodblock print
Period: 21st century
Condition: very good
Size: 17 x 38 cm

SOLD

Description

Fascinating woodblock print on washi paper (和紙) made by the famous artist Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) and depicting an Unryu (雲龍) dragon in clouds, the legendary creature that, in various Asian cultures and also in Japanese mythology and folklore, is associated with rainfall.

«This rain-bearing dragon as a symbol of the sky and Yang (陽), the male element, demonstrates how far Hiroshige mastered the Chinese style, as handed down in Japanese painting through the Kano (狩野) and Tosa (土佐) schools» (cfr. Adele Schlombs, Hiroshige, Italian ed. 2013 Taschen, p. 50).

The work, printed for the first time in a period between 1847 and 1852, is presented here in a fine edition of the 21st century made, as we read in the seal on the back, by the prestigious Adachi Hanga (アダチ版画) in Tokyo and is in very good condition.