HOKUSAI: oban yoko-e (24.1 x 37.2 cm.); Gaifu kaisei "South wind, clear weather", ['Red Fuji'], from the series Fugaku sanjurokkei "The thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji", signed Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu and published by Eijudo [Nishimuraya Yohachi], blue outline- good impression, extensive wood grain, color a little faded, minor holes restored, trimmed below into trees, very good condition overall

Details

HOKUSAI: oban yoko-e (24.1 x 37.2 cm.); Gaifu kaisei "South wind, clear weather", ['Red Fuji'], from the series Fugaku sanjurokkei "The thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji", signed Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu and published by Eijudo [Nishimuraya Yohachi], blue outline- good impression, extensive wood grain, color a little faded, minor holes restored, trimmed below into trees, very good condition overall

Literature

Lane, Richard. Hokusai, His Life and Work, London: Barrie and Jenkins, 1989, pl. 245; Ukiyo-e taikei, vol. 13, no.2; Narazaki, M. (adapted by J. Bester), Hokusai, the Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji, Tokyo, 1968; Lane, Richard. Images from the Floating World: The Japanese Print, Including an Illustrated Dictionary of Ukiyo-e, Oxford, 1978; Forrer, M. Hokusai, A guide to the serial graphics, Philadelphia and London, 1974; Forrer, M. Hokusai and his School, Catalogue of the Collection of Japanese Prints Part III, Amsterdam: Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, 1982

Lot Essay

From the group of ten earliest prints from the series Fugaku sanjurokkei printed with a blue outline and the signature Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu now considered published ca. 1830-1 [see Ukiyo-e taikei, XIII,1-10 and Hokusai and his school..., Rijksmuseum, 1982, pp.42-3]

Gaifu kaisei can be translated "clear weather with a south breeze". In the summer when the morning air encircling Mt. Fuji is clear the northern slopes appear pink at sunrise, hence the depiction of the mountain in shades of red. Some impressions of the design simulate the sunrise effect in delicate color while others, popularly called 'Red Fuji', emphasize the contrast between the red-brown slopes, deep blue sky and blanket of green trees.