Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)

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A large and extremely important drawing. A detailed preparatory design for a well know painting. Shows a party beside a lake. This drawing also shows a back view of Hiroshige ( the seated figure with shaved head beneath the tree on the right ). Hiroshige is known to have shaved his head to become a Buddhist monk in 1856, so this study must date from that time. It’s interesting to compare with the finished painting which Hiroshige simplified, leaving out figures and the dog at bottom right. Sumi and pentimenti with annotations on thin paper. 40 x 17.5 in., 101 x 44 cms. The painting is illustrated in the “200th Anniversary of the Birth of Hiroshige” exhibition catalogue, Tokyo Odakyu Museum, 1996, no. 316, supervised by Prof. Kobayashi Tadashi.

Status: Sold