Posted by Judy Hahn on December 29, 1998 at 17:46:55:
In Reply to: Re: Utagawa Sadahide posted by Alan A. Anonymous on December 18, 1998 at 09:33:29:
Alan A..
You just gave me a nice Christmas present! about a dozen years ago, on impulse I bought a Sadahide septych (if that's how it's spelled) of the old Japanese fleet going off to war with Korea. It's a broad landscape with many old style ships. I just fell for it, but have always wondered if it was a wise purchase. Thanks Judy Hahn
(PS - still love it!)
: Sadahide was a highly talented artist with a somewhat mixed output. The majority of his early production seems to have been warrior prints, which follow in the style of Kuniyoshi, though he also made some bijin-ga in the style of Kunisada. After the Meiji Restoration, Sadahide produced some of the best Yokohama-e available, and introduced some new pictorial styles that broadened the scope of ukiyo-e. These include his multi-sheet maps/views of Yokohama and Edo from the air, and triptychs in which figures were not confined to a single sheet, but swelled in closeup over all three.
: These innovative prints are quite valuable, selling in Japan for thousands. The others range from double digits to triple, generally, depending on condition and image.
: By the way, just as a personal note, I have in my collection a picture book by Sadahide produced shortly before the Meiji Restoration which has the most scathing satire of the loss of martial values among the samurai. Images include frail and aged warriors, sagging and effeminate warriors, and warriors wearing so much armor they cannot be seen beneath. An interesting political stance from a warrior print master on the state of Japan at the time.