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Lot 28
UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)
The Moon Seen through Leaves (Hagoshi no tsuki)
Closed18 June 2020
Price Realised
GBP 27,500
More Information
Specialist note
A full autumn moon shines through a maple branch, as leaves fall down into a cascading waterfall.
The Chinese poem by Hakurakuten (722-846) from the anthology Wakan roeishu, has been translated by Matthi Forrer and Peter Mason in Hiroshige: Prints and Drawings (London, 1997):
It is not so sad that maple leaves fall,
scattered on the moss-covered ground—
it is only sad when the wind gets chilly and rough,
and rain clouds darken the sky.
The title indicates that this series was to comprise twenty-eight designs, however only two are known. The other design from the series depicts a rope bridge spanning a deep gorge, with a crescent moon and waterfall.
A similar impression to the present lot is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession no. P.70.145, go to:
https://collections.artsmia.org/art/57825/moon-seen-through-leaves-utagawa-hiroshige
For an example of the other design known of this series in the collection the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), accession no. JP2836, go to:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60028247
The Chinese poem by Hakurakuten (722-846) from the anthology Wakan roeishu, has been translated by Matthi Forrer and Peter Mason in Hiroshige: Prints and Drawings (London, 1997):
It is not so sad that maple leaves fall,
scattered on the moss-covered ground—
it is only sad when the wind gets chilly and rough,
and rain clouds darken the sky.
The title indicates that this series was to comprise twenty-eight designs, however only two are known. The other design from the series depicts a rope bridge spanning a deep gorge, with a crescent moon and waterfall.
A similar impression to the present lot is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession no. P.70.145, go to:
https://collections.artsmia.org/art/57825/moon-seen-through-leaves-utagawa-hiroshige
For an example of the other design known of this series in the collection the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), accession no. JP2836, go to:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60028247