Senzoku no Ike (Snow on Senzoku Pond)

Kawase Hasui, artist

1883–1957

Senzoku no Ike (Snow on Senzoku Pond), 1928, Showa period (1926–1989)

Portfolio/Series title: Tokyo nijūkkei (Twenty Views of Tokyo)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 36.2 x 24.2 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 1/4 x 9 1/2 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: Gift of Fina C. Ott

Accession number: 1979.0176

Not on display

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Label texts

Archive Label 2003:
Hasui, who began his career as a painter, traveled throughout Japan sketching scenic spots to be used as subjects for his woodcut prints. In this print of Senzoku Pond, near Tokyo, Hasui depicts a wintry landscape in blues and grays through the branches of the snow-laden pines in the foreground. Through his skillful use of light, Hasui imbues the gray sky with a glow that silhouettes the background trees and highlights the rippling water of the pond.

Archive Label date unknown:
Hasui is a sensitive, reflective artist and print designer who is often compared to Hiroshige for his remarkable ability to evoke the mood of a particular time or place. Like Hiroshige, his most successful prints are those depicting nature. Here three tall, snow-laden pine trees divide the foreground, setting the stage for the shadowy blue background trees silhouetted against a pale gray sky. A mood of quietude pervades, broken only by the gently falling soft, wet snowflakes and the rippling reflections of trees on the water.