A Private Collection of Japanese PrintsKATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Edo period (1615-1868), circa 1831An ōban yoko-e print titled Gaifū kaisei (Fine Wind, Clear Weather) from the series Fugaku sanjūrokkei (36 Views of Mount Fuji), signed Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu, published by Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō) 9 13/16 x 14 7/16in (24.9 x 36.6cm)
ProvenancePreviously sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, November 25, 2018, lot 490Hokusai's Gaifū Kaisei, better known as the "Red Fuji," is one of the most celebrated Japanese landscape prints ever produced. Rivaled in fame only by the Great Wave off Kanagawa, another masterpiece from the 36 Views of Mount Fuji series, it combines striking simplicity with extraordinary visual power. The composition is built around the commanding triangular mass of Mount Fuji, whose warm red and brown slopes rise against a luminous sky of deepening blues. Delicate clouds soften the scene, creating a harmonious balance between solidity and movement.Unlike the grand landscape traditions of China, where human figures often provide scale and narrative, Hokusai's image contains no people. Yet the print conveys a profound emotional resonance. Through its economy of means, it evokes stillness, permanence, and the sublime presence of nature. More than a topographical view, Red Fuji becomes a meditation on light, atmosphere, and the passage of time. The mountain appears both immediate and timeless, transformed by the fleeting effects of dawn into an image of enduring significance.The print's elegance of design and bold use of color have ensured its lasting influence. Admired by artists, scholars, collectors, and museum audiences around the world, it remains a defining achievement of the ukiyo-e tradition and a touchstone of Japanese art.Exceptional impressions of Red Fuji survive in many of the world's leading art institutions. Among the finest is the example in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (21.6756), formerly in the renowned collection of William S. and John T. Spaulding. Remarkably, it has never been displayed publicly. The museum owns two other impressions of this celebrated state, together with three examples of a rare variant in which the characteristic red coloration is entirely absent, offering an unusual glimpse into the print's complex production history.
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