Details

A fork in the large trunk of a maple tree provides the vista for this striking Hiroshige design. This visual technique of partially obscuring the foreground with an object while revealing a detailed sprawling background is a hallmark of Hiroshige's artistic style. At the center, aging maple leaves stretch out, surveying the terrain where they will soon fall. Below, we have a torii gate welcoming pilgrims to a shrine complex across from a rustic village, adorned with thatched roof structures. This idyllic scene opens up to a clear sky and a mountain range on the horizon, completing the serene and captivating panorama depicted by this master of landscape.

Connoisseur's Note

This design is among the artist more sought after works from the series. The red pigment in the leaves has not oxidized. The other pigments are in excellent state of preservation exhibiting.