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YOSHIFUJI, Utagawa (1828 - 1887)		Minamoto YOSHITSUNE fighting BENKEI on Gojo bridge - Print diptych and preliminary drawing of the right panel -
		Signed:                        Ipposai Yoshifuji ga Publisher:                   (seal unread) Date:                             c. 1854 Size:                             oban diptych (c. 36. 5 x 48. 5 cms / c. 14 1/4" x 19") Condition: Very good / fine impression and color. Very few tiny pinholes, slight surface soil; good overall condition. ref. no.: # 581581 Price:  € 1,550.00

This is Yoshifuji's depiction of the renowned fight between Ushiwakamaru (better known as MINAMOTO YOSHITSUNE) and the monk Benkei on the moonlit bridge, Gojobashi, in Kyoto. The diptych comes with a preliminary drawing of the right panel. In this early stage of the design development, Ushiwakamaru's proportions were much larger, filling the entire upper half of the sheet. By reducing the size of the body, - placing the jumping boy farther to the distance, i.,e., the artist gained more (pictorial) depth, also accentuated by a more prominent mountain range. Compare this depiction of the subject with two version by KUNIYOSHI, one his  famous Gojo bridge triptych,  the other a  full-figure diptych,  both designed c. fifteen years earlier, in around the year 1840. YOSHIFUJI was a pupil of Kuniyoshi; he specialized in pictures of warriors, and also illustrated children's books.

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