Artist: Ito Shinsui
Medium: Original Limited Edition Japanese Woodblock Print
Series Title: Eight Sights of Omi
Edition: #165/200
Date: 1918
Publisher: S. Watanabe Color Print Co.
Reference No.: Ito Shinsui Cat. #18; pg. 39
Size: 12 -3/4 x 9 " (Aiban Format)
Condition: Very fine, with superb colors
Notes:
RARE. One of the earliest printed works by the master artist depicting Ukimido or the 'floating pavilion' constructed over the surface of a lake blanketed in snow. Dated: May, Taisho 7 (1918), published by Watanabe Shozaburo with edition stamp to verso (Design by Ito Shinsui/Katada from Eight Views of Omi, no.165, from a limited edition of 200 prints) with two seals Hanmoto and Watanabe; signed Shinsui.
Shinsui captures a still, isolated winter evening using a quiet, muted palette of whites, grays, and deep indigos. Heavy snowflakes cascade through the composition, blanket the pavilion's roof, and collect along a massive pine branch that frames the upper left corner. This design is highly sought after by collectors because it was completed prior to the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. The earthquake completely destroyed the studio of his publisher, Watanabe Shōzaburō, consuming the original woodblocks and any unsold inventory. Original pre-earthquake strikes from the limited edition of 200 prints are exceedingly rare.
Born in Tokyo, Ito Shinsui began apprenticing with printmaking master Kaburagi Kiyokata at age 13. In 1915, Shinsui designed one of the first shin-hanga prints, and three years later, he created Eight Views of Omi. Known for its natural wonders, temples, and shrines, Omi is an ancient Japanese province situated around Lake Biwa near Kyoto. Since the Heian period, Omi had attracted emperors, imperial families, and noblemen for retreat and exile from the outside world.