Utagawa Hiroshige "Wild Geese Flying under the Full Moon "

Will there be such a night again? Wilde geese against the moon

This is Hiroshige's haiku written in the upper left corner. The scenery must have impressed him so much that he wondered if there would ever be such a night again. A masterpiece of ukiyo-e depicting three geese flying down in the autumn sky with a full moon in the background.

By combining only 11 colours of ultra-fine yarn in various ways, even the subtlest nuances are woven with astonishing delicacy.The gentle curves of the moon are expressed using gold leaf, and depth is conveyed by blending the boundary between the sky and clouds with Hiroshige Blue.

Hiroshige's playfulness is evident in the seal. The character for "happiness" (福) is transformed into the pictogram of a deer (鹿), while the character for "longevity" (寿) is turned into the pictogram of a horse (馬). So the seal have double meaning, "hapiness and longevity" (福寿） and "fool"(馬鹿 "horse and deer" in Chinese character means "fool").

The texture and warmth of the yarn, and the gold foil that shines in various ways when exposed to light, give this work a charm distinct from woodblock prints. It can be enjoyed as interior decor for a long time.

With genuine gold leaf

Size: 
H. approx. 77.5cm  (30.5 in.) 
W. approx. 46.5cm  (18.3 in.)
D. approx. 2.5cm  (1.0 in.)