Artist: Hiroshi Yoshida
Medium: Original Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: The United States
Edition: First
Date: 1925
Publisher: The Artist - Privately Published
Reference No.: Abe #12
Size: 11 x 16 -1/2 "
Condition: Very fine
Notes:
Jizuri (self-printed) seal in upper left margin. Signed: Hiroshi Yoshida; with the artist's red ink seal. The composition centers on a massive, billowing plume of water vapor rising from the base of the falls. Yoshida uses soft, delicate color gradations to give the mist a heavy, tactile presence that contrasts against the solid rock walls. The swirling, turbulent waters in the foreground demonstrate classic Japanese ukiyo-e and shin-hanga wave aesthetics, mixed with Western-style realistic lighting. The deep blues and teals convey the sheer volume and churning power of the river. Yoshida oversaw the complex block layering needed to achieve the subtle transitions in the sky and the frothing water.
In 1924 Yoshida was involved with a traveling exhibition of paintings and prints in America which was organized in an effort to support those artists who were struggling in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake that devasted Tokyo on September 1st in the previous year. Upon his return to Japan in January of 1925, Yoshida established his own printing studio and began production woodblock prints, starting with a series based on compositions from the United States.
Niagara Falls is created by a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three falls is Horseshoe Falls (Canadian Falls), which straddles the international border of the two countries. The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Formed by the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls have the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America.