February, Winter Sky
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
$2,000–$15,000. Snow and night scenes tend to command premium prices for this artist. Key value factors: Yamamura's Art Deco-influenced designs are particularly sought after. Kabuki actor prints and bold modern compositions command the highest prices.
Another rendering of a February winter sky, this [oban](/glossary/oban) woodblock print captures the cold stillness of late winter in Japan. The composition likely depicts a landscape or cityscape under heavy overcast skies, using layered [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) printing to build up the dense, low-hanging clouds characteristic of the season. Toyonari's landscape work, while far less numerous than his kabuki portraits, reveals an ability to convey atmospheric conditions with economy of means. The winter sky subject strips the image to essentials: land, sky, and the grey weight of cold air between them. The print connects to a Japanese aesthetic tradition that finds beauty in the austerity of winter, from Sesshu's ink landscapes to Hiroshige's snow scenes, updated here through the [shin-hanga](/glossary/shin-hanga) movement's modern printing techniques and color sensibility.
1919
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Woodblock print
1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with mica
1920
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper with nikawa and embossing
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
February, Winter Sky was created by Yamamura Toyonari (山村豊成).
February, Winter Sky was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
February, Winter Sky depicts snow scenes and winter.