<b>GOLDEN PAGODA IN RANGOON</b> / Hiroshi Yoshida1931<B>SOLD</B></em>
ARTIST: Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950)
TITLE: Golden Pagoda in Rangoon
MEDIUM: Woodblock print
DATE: 1931
DIMENSIONS: 11 1/2 x 16 inches
CONDITION: Excellent, light soiling to margins
LITERATURE: Ogura, Yoshida Hiroshi Zenhangashu (The Complete Woodblock Prints of Hiroshi Yoshida), Abe Shuppan, Tokyo, 1987, pl.148
SOLD
Details
An avid world traveler, Hiroshi Yoshida was among the first woodblock artists to capture exotic locales such as this stunning depiction of the Stupa (Pagoda) of Rangoon. This design boasts a faithful rendering of the Burmese landscape as Yoshida would have encountered it. A sprawling garden, just outside the temple complex, populated with sacred cows traversing the landscape. All the while, the light of day is diminishing. Before being extinguished, it broadcasts an array of intense and saturated colors across the Burmese (now Myanmar) landscape.
The design highlights Yoshida's highly realistic signature style that contains hints of his fondness for watercolor. This serene scene is both idyllic as well as dramatic due in part to Yoshida's skilled draftsmanship, which features the raising Pagoda at the center of the composition engulfed in the bright red hues of the aging day's golden hour.
Connoisseur's Note
This lifetime impression features the artist’s jizuri seal at the upper top left margin. The print also bears a pencil signature at the lower right margin. An artist with a fascination with light, Yoshida produced multiple variants of this design. This impression is the most vibrant and richly colored I have come across. The print comes from a prominent collector who has “traded-up” several times for this impression over the span of more than 30 years. This impression’s colors are astonishing—they must be seen in person to be believed.
