After Utagawa Hiroshige, “Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake”, published c. 1950

(Designed by) Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) (1797–1858)

“Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake” (大はしあたけの夕立), published c. 1950

Contextual Commentary:

Widely celebrated as Utagawa Hiroshige’s ultimate masterwork, this composition depicts a sudden summer afternoon downpour (yūdachi) catching pedestrians exposed on the wooden Shin-Ōhashi Bridge crossing the Sumida River. In the background, a lone boatman guides a log raft through the grey expanse toward the Fukagawa timber yards, while the far bank of Atake recedes into the gloom.

This specific design holds a monumental place in global art history; it heavily influenced European Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters, most famously Vincent van Gogh, who meticulously replicated this exact print in his 1887 oil painting Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige).

Technical Details & Condition:

Colour woodblock print (Ōban format) on fine, fibrous buff-coloured washi paper, with bokashi gradations and full margins as issued.

This impression was printed from recut blocks using traditional hand-printing techniques. It reproduces Hiroshige’s celebrated view of a sudden downpour over part of the wooden Shin-Ōhashi Bridge, with Edo visible in the distance. The remarkably fine lines depicting the rain were carved in relief into the printing block.

Published by Takamizawa (高見沢) around 1950, this print faithfully reproduces the original 1857 censor, date, and publisher (Uoya Eikichi) seals on the face. Stamped on the reverse side is the authentic red Takamizawa publisher's seal reading Hanmoto Takamizawa-ban (版元 高見澤版), fully verifying its mid-century provenance and premium production standards. The original design was cut and printed in 1857 as Plate No. 58 (also referenced as No. 52) from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” (Meisho Edo Hyakkei).

The colours closely follow those of the impression in the British Museum (inv. no. 1906,1220,0.752).

This impression is nearly faultless with luminous colour and excellent registration of the multiple colour blocks. The sheet is in pristine/near mint condition, completely free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, and handling marks.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 38.1 x 25.6 cm
• Image borderline: 33.7 x 21.7 cm

Price & Shipping:

AU$623 (approximately US$429.09 / €384.04 / £320.41), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To Purchase or Enquire:

For inquiries or to request a secure PayPal invoice, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com.

Please Note: The digital scan contrast has been optimised to reveal the print’s exceptionally fine line work clearly. Consequently, digital screen tones may vary slightly from the subtle, warm tonal qualities of the physical work in hand.

Frantz Charlet, “A Young Woman Having Tea”, c. 1920

Frantz Charlet (1862–1928)— a Belgian painter, etcher, and lithographer

“A Young Woman Having Tea” (or “Une jeune femme prenant le thé”), circa 1920

Contextual Commentary:

When Frantz Charlet executed this large drypoint around 1920, Belgium was emerging from the shadows of the Great War and looking back with deep nostalgia at the Belle Époque—a lost golden era defined by booming industrial prosperity and an extraordinary artistic renaissance. Charlet himself had been a central figure in that cultural awakening; as a founding member of Les XX (The Vingt), he belonged to a radical collective of Brussels painters, sculptors, and designers who boldly broke away from rigid academic constraints. Through their groundbreaking annual exhibitions, the group championed then-subversive movements like Impressionism, Symbolism, and Divisionism, effectively reshaping the landscape of modern European art.

The print’s subject matter beautifully mirrors the post-World War I zeitgeist, reflecting a collective desire to return to normalcy and present a relaxed world where life is at peace once more. By depicting a young woman pausing for a quiet, introspective moment over tea, Charlet utilises a classic late-19th and early-20th-century artistic trope to evoke pre-war stability. Rather than a mere snapshot of daily life, the composition serves as a sophisticated study of peaceful domesticity and quiet, sensual elegance—a deliberate sanctuary of calm in a world rebuilding itself.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching and drypoint with plate tone on buff coloured wove paper with wide margins. This proof-state impression is pencil signed by the artist with a hand-inscribed dedication at lower-right, “à Mr. Haasen / F. Charlet”, to the intaglio printers and collectors in Paris, Raymond Haasen (1911–83), and his father, Paul Haasen (fl. 1920–24).

The impression is strong, crisp and near faultless. The sheet is in near pristine condition—completely free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.  

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 51.8 x 35.5 cm
• Plate mark: 37.8 x 24.9 cm
• Image borderline: 35.9 x 23.5 cm

References:

• IFF (not described): Jean Adhémar, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: CABANE–CICÉRI”, vol. 4, 1949, (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes), p. 375 — Available via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5510949t/f397
• Bénézit: Dictionary of Artists, Vol. 3 (Bulow–Chardin), Éditions Gründ, 2006, p. 811 — Establishes his authoritative record as a painter and printmaker active in both Belgium and Paris.
• Le dynamic-groupe “Les XX”: Jane Block, “Les XX and Belgian Avant-Gardism, 1868-1894”, UMI Research Press, 1984 — References Charlet's foundational role alongside James Ensor and Théo van Rysselberghe in avant-garde print circles.

Price & Shipping:

AU$268 (approximately US$184.07 / €165.18 / £137.82), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To Purchase or Enquire

For questions or a PayPal invoice, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com.

Please note: The scan contrast has been digitally enhanced to show the print’s fine details more clearly. As a result, the digital image tones may not fully reflect the subtle tonal qualities of the physical original.

Antonio Tempesta, “A Horse Galloping to the Left”, 1590

 Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630)

“A Horse Galloping to the Left” (or “Een paard naar links galopperend”), 1590

Contextual Commentary:

This etching is plate 12 from the series of twenty-eight plates, “Horses of Different Lands” (“Cavalli di diversi paesi”). In this series, each plate features one or two horses in a landscape with the series preceded by a frontispiece depicting Minerva in a chariot, driven by Prudence with a Latin dedication to Virginio Orsini—the Duke of Bracciano (1572–1615). This copy has an historic ink inscription that is now slightly faded by an old hand in the same location that the plate number, “12”, was printed in the plate. There is also a hand-inscribed number “11” in brown ink on the right also located in the writing edge.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine laid paper, trimmed with a thread margin around the borderline on the top and sides and slightly within the borderline on the lower edge. The sheet has been professionally backed with archival quality washi paper for structural support and to provide wide false margins for presentation purposes.

The impression is strong, crisp, and slightly silvery. The sheet has a restored upper right corner, otherwise it remains in very good condition free of holes, folds, abrasions, foxing or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 13.9 x 16.6 cm
• Image borderline: 12.3 x 16.5 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Within the image borderline: (lower left) “antonio tempesti”
• Below the image: (centre in two columns of two lines of Latin) “Hic celer ante alios ualido quatit impete campos, / Ocior aut iaculo, aut uentos equante sagitta // Plerumq et uarijs maculis distinctus, anhelo / Est comites reliquos aßuetus Vincere cursu.” (Translation: “Swiftly, ahead of all the rest, he traverses the plains with powerful strides—faster than a javelin, or an arrow that rivals the winds. Marked, for the most part, by varied spots, he is accustomed to outstripping all his companions in the race.”)
• Below the image: (right) “A.T.F.” (monogram acronym for Antonio Tempesta Fecit)

References:

• TIB 36.952: Sebastian Buffa (ed.), “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Masters of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 36, 1983, (New York, Abaris Books), p. 196, cat. no. 952
• British Museum, Asset Number 1613368721: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613368721
• Rijksmuseum, Object Number RP-PHH-396: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200263452
• Harvard Art Museums, Object Number S9.106.2: https://hvrd.art/o/236579

Price & Shipping:

AU$254 (approximately US$174.45 / €156.55 / £130.62), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To Purchase or Enquire

For questions or a PayPal invoice, please contact oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com.

Please note: The scan contrast has been digitally enhanced to show the print’s fine details more clearly. As a result, the digital image tones may not fully reflect the subtle tonal qualities of the physical original.