$500–$4,000. Common landscapes: $500–$1,500. Key value factors: Maeda Masao's atmospheric mountain and landscape prints have a dedicated following among sosaku-hanga collectors.
"A Picture Contest" (絵合, Eawase) is Chapter 17 of The Tale of Genji — the chapter in which Prince Genji orchestrates an elaborate competition between the albums of paintings kept by the Akikonomu and Kokiden factions of the imperial court. Maeda Masao's illustration for this chapter depicts the courtly contest through the decorative pattern-based compositional language he developed for his Genji series, the competing albums and their aristocratic judges rendered in the flattened, stylized manner appropriate to the classical period narrative. The "picture contest" chapter is among the most self-referential in the Genji, a narrative about art appreciation embedded within a work of literary art.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
A Picture Contest — 絵合 was created by Maeda Masao (前田政雄).
A Picture Contest — 絵合 depicts figures, daily life, and interiors.
