drawing
- Museum number
- 1913,0501,0.290.1-10
- Description
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Ten preparatory drawings for album of paintings. Views of famous places in Edo:
1: Plum garden at Kameido.
2: Winter - maple viewing on Oji road.
3: Viewing cherry blossoms at Mukojima.
4: View of Tanabata Festival throughout city.
5: Spring - view of Imado from Mukojima.
6: Village. (Paper damaged.)
7: Winter - ferry at Hashiba.
8: Autumn - moonlit night at Yanagibashi.
9: Autumn - Shinagawa, cape in moonlight.
10: Winter - snow falling on Sumida River seen from Imado.
Many with small 'pentimenti' added to make corrections to individual figures and few touches of wash. Only the last drawing is completely coloured. Ink and colour on paper. Signed and sealed.
- Production date
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Late 1840s-50s (?)
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Late 1860s-80s (?)
- Dimensions
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Height: 30 centimetres (cover)
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Width: 18 centimetres (cover)
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Clark 1992
Edward Strange ('The Colour Prints of Hiroshige', London, Cassell, 1925, p. 122) suggests that these are preparatory-drawings for prints and that they must date from Hiroshige's lastest period. The squarish proportions of the drawings (30.0 X 36.0 cm) with a title written in a border down the right-hand side do not suggest the dimensions of a horizontal 'oban' print, however; nor is the size of the figures relative to the composition normal for Hiroshige's prints. It seems more likely that they were intended as preparatory sketches for an album of paintings. Many drawings have small 'pentimenti' added to make corrections to individual figures and a few touches of wash. Only the last drawing is completely coloured. The settings are all famous places in Edo:
1 The plum garden at Kameido ('Kameido Umeyashiki').
2 Winter [should be autumn?] - maple viewing on the Oji road ('Fuyu Oji-michi momiji-mi').
3 Viewing cherry blossoms at Mukojima ('Mukojima hanami').
4 View of the Tanabata Festival throughout the city ('Shichu tanabata matsuri no kei').
5 Spring - view of Imado from Mukojima ('Haru Mukojima yori Imado no kei').
6 Village ... [at the Tama River?] ('... no sato'). (Paper damaged.)
7 Winter - ferry at Hashiba ('Fuyu Hashiba no watashi').
8 Autumn - moonlit night at Yanagibashi ('Aki Yanagibashi no tsukiyo').
9 Autumn - Shinagawa, the cape in the moonlight ('Aki Shinagawa tsuki no misaki').
10 Winter - snow falling on the Sumida River seen from Imado, from a set of famous places ('Fuyu meisho no uchi Imado yori Sumidagawa no yukifuri').
Literature:
Strange, Edward, 'The Colour Prints of Hiroshige'. London, Cassell, 1925, p. 122.
- Location
- Not on display
- Associated events
- Commemoration of: Tanabata Festival (4)
- Acquisition date
- 1913
- Acquisition notes
- The collection of Japanese and Chinese paintings belonging to Arthur Morrison was purchased by Sir William Gwynne-Evans, who presented it to the British Museum in 1913.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1913,0501,0.290.1-10
- Additional IDs
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Asia painting number: Jap.Ptg.1544 (Japanese Painting Number)