<b>SNOW ON THE BRIDGE MATSUE</b>Kazuma Oda1924$3,500</em>

Details

Kazuma Oda is one of a few artists that straddled to two distinct artistic movements as well as mediums. Though he is known as Japan's most celebrated 20th-century lithographer in the Sosaku Hanga tradition, Oda also produced some stunning woodblock prints that have become icons of Shin Hanga. “Snow on the Bridge Matsue” is among these important Shin Hanga designs. 

Caught in a whirling snowfall, a parade of kimono clad figures struggle their way across Oda’s composition. The figures’ brightly colored clothes work in concert with the cold blue tone of the river to add a surprising splash of vibrancy that animates the foreground while the seemingly endless white of the raging storm fills every corner of the composition. The print’s namesake, the Matsue Bridge, is shown in the background with its elegant and graceful arc. The artist playfully echoed the bridge’s silhouette in the rendering of the figure’s height and positioning in the composition’s foreground.  

Connoisseur's Note

This early impression is noteworthy for the skillfully executed bokashi, or color gradation, in the background sky and in the riverbed below. The print exhibits extensive use of gauffrage, or embossing, throughout the composition, highlighting the texture and depth of the snowfall. Further, this exceptionally early impression also bolsters fine and sharp lines that often appear fuzzy or are even omitted on later impressions.