The Painting 'Fujiwara Yasumasa Playing the Flute by Moonlight,' Exhibited at the National Painting Exhibition in the autumn of 1882 (Meiji jugo mizunoe-uma kishu kaiga kyoshinkai shuppin ga Fujiwara Yasumasa gekka roteki zu)
Artist
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡 芳年
(Japanese, 1839–1892)
DateFebruary 12, 1883
Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on silk
ClassificationsPrints
MarkingsSeal: Taiso and Yoshitoshi
Credit LineHarriet B. Bancroft Fund
Object number2004.3
DescriptionReleased less than one year after the debut of the painting Fujiwara Yasumasa Playing the Flute by Moonlight, this print expands the composition into the more panoramic triptych format while conveying the nuance of the original brushwork. Compared to the painting, Yasumasa’s clothing forms an upward arc, just one of the triangular shapes that unify the three panels into a harmonious composition. To achieve the wispy effect of the clouds the printer used a technique known as “gradation without outlines” (atenashi bokashi), which conveys the cloud forms passing across the moon with unnerving atmospheric intensity.Label TextReleased less than one year after the debut of the painting Fujiwara Yasumasa Playing the Flute by Moonlight, this print expands the composition into the more panoramic triptych format while conveying the nuance of the original brushwork. Compared to the painting, Yasumasa’s clothing forms an upward arc, just one of the triangular shapes that unify the three panels into a harmonious composition. To achieve the wispy effect of the clouds the printer used a technique known as “gradation without outlines” (atenashi bokashi), which conveys the cloud forms passing across the moon with unnerving atmospheric intensity.ProvenanceRichard Kruml, Surrey, UK
On View
Not on view
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡 芳年
late autumn, 1882
