Spring Outing
春の遠足
- Date:
- c. 1910
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
Typical Price
A gentle spring outing scene shows Shoun's ability to render landscape and seasonal beauty outside his core figure subjects. This non-series work has broad decorative appeal and demonstrates the artist's transitional position between ukiyo-e tradition and shin-hanga innovation. Pre-earthquake editions sell for $700-$1,500, with posthumous reprints at $300-$700. An understated but charming Shoun composition.
Description
Spring Outing (Haru no ensoku), a color woodblock from around 1910, captures the pleasure of venturing outdoors as winter recedes and the landscape greens. Spring excursions in Japan traditionally combined exercise, socializing, and the appreciation of seasonal scenery, from plum blossoms in early spring to cherry blossoms later in the season. Shoun's print depicts figures moving through a landscape that shows the first signs of the new season, their clothing lighter than winter wear, their pace leisurely. The outing is both physical journey and seasonal marker, a way of acknowledging spring's arrival by walking through it.
