Hiroshige | Fireworks at Ryogoku, 100 Famous Views of Edo
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
名所江户百景 两国花火
Fireworks at Ryogoku, from the series of 100 Famous Views of Edo
1858
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 35.8cm x 25.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 35.8cm x 25.5cm
奢华版；非常早期的印刷带清晰的木纹和云母；颜色鲜艳；边缘经修剪
Deluxe edition; fine impression and color with beautiful woodgrain and mica; slight trimming to the margins
夜空中定格的花火，是永存的刹那芳华。
《名所江户百景》是歌川广重于1856至1858年创作的竖版名所绘系列，为广重晚年乃至整个创作生涯中艺术水准最高的代表作之一。全系列包括目录在内共计119幅，以四季为主题，分为春夏秋冬四部。
本作属于其中的秋之部，是全系列中最负盛名的大名作之一，描绘了江户城隅田川上“两国开河”烟花大会的盛况。且值得一提的是，从标题章格外清晰的底纹与精良的云母摺可知，本作的版本是一个早期的奢华版本，十分罕见且珍贵。
让我们回到画面。画中广重选择了他惯用的类似无人机航拍的俯瞰视角，将隅田川、两国桥以及江户城的远景压缩进画面下半部，为如天鹅绒般的夜幕与朵朵腾空的花火留足了舞台。河川中穿梭的条条小舟与屋形船的船头统一朝向画面右下方，与横跨的两国桥交叉形成了强烈的几何张力。平日里鳞次栉比的江户城建筑群，因华丽的云母摺技法的加持显得颇为沉静，此刻仅以剪影般的黑色轮廓示人。毕竟，当所有的目光都聚焦于夜空时，一切都将退居为模糊的背景——
画面右上角，绽放的烟花停留在最灿烂的一刻，金黄色的光芒在深灰中显得更为明亮；即将坠落的一道抛物线火光，使得观者的目光又回到河川之上——船中，星星点点的橘红灯火与花火形成着对角线呼应，虽不如烟火璀璨，但充满着生活气息。烟火气与人情味，正是广重作品永恒生命力的来源。
It’s a summer evening, and night has fallen on Edo. And so the fun begins. Desperate for relief from the sweltering heat, but also out for a good time, residents flock to the shores of the Sumida River and onto the river itself. Pleasure boats ride the current and dart in and out and among the pylons of graceful Ryogoku Bridge.
We’ve seen this bridge in many prints by Hiroshige, as well as Yoshitoshi and others.We are also familiar with the types of boats we see – such as the small yanebune with their slanted roofs and shoji screens that can be rented for an evening of food, fun and live music. Other small, oar-powered wooden boats weave in and out of this nautical traffic jam, selling snacks and drink.
But we rarely see this particular view, because it’s a view no human has seen at this point in history; maybe a bird, but never a person. While some suggest Hiroshige is providing the vantage point of a luxurious teahouse, it seems too high for that. Indeed, it’s almost as if we are up in the air with the fireworks.
And what a show it is! Many a night summertime Edo resonated with the boom of fireworks and the sparkling light they shined down upon on the lantern-lit city. (Let’s set aside for a moment whether this was a good idea in a city made of wood and paper.) This is one of the most famous prints from Hiroshige’s late-career masterpiece “100 Famous Views of Edo” and he embraces the series’ vertical format for all it’s worth. The fireworks, wonderfully printed, burst way, way up in the sky, dramatically contrasting dark heavens textured with rich woodgrain. They even seem to blast their way into the wonderfully elaborate title cartouche, a signature of this, the deluxe version of a marvelous print.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
名所江户百景 两国花火
Fireworks at Ryogoku, from the series of 100 Famous Views of Edo
1858
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 35.8cm x 25.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 35.8cm x 25.5cm
奢华版；非常早期的印刷带清晰的木纹和云母；颜色鲜艳；边缘经修剪
Deluxe edition; fine impression and color with beautiful woodgrain and mica; slight trimming to the margins
夜空中定格的花火，是永存的刹那芳华。
《名所江户百景》是歌川广重于1856至1858年创作的竖版名所绘系列，为广重晚年乃至整个创作生涯中艺术水准最高的代表作之一。全系列包括目录在内共计119幅，以四季为主题，分为春夏秋冬四部。
本作属于其中的秋之部，是全系列中最负盛名的大名作之一，描绘了江户城隅田川上“两国开河”烟花大会的盛况。且值得一提的是，从标题章格外清晰的底纹与精良的云母摺可知，本作的版本是一个早期的奢华版本，十分罕见且珍贵。
让我们回到画面。画中广重选择了他惯用的类似无人机航拍的俯瞰视角，将隅田川、两国桥以及江户城的远景压缩进画面下半部，为如天鹅绒般的夜幕与朵朵腾空的花火留足了舞台。河川中穿梭的条条小舟与屋形船的船头统一朝向画面右下方，与横跨的两国桥交叉形成了强烈的几何张力。平日里鳞次栉比的江户城建筑群，因华丽的云母摺技法的加持显得颇为沉静，此刻仅以剪影般的黑色轮廓示人。毕竟，当所有的目光都聚焦于夜空时，一切都将退居为模糊的背景——
画面右上角，绽放的烟花停留在最灿烂的一刻，金黄色的光芒在深灰中显得更为明亮；即将坠落的一道抛物线火光，使得观者的目光又回到河川之上——船中，星星点点的橘红灯火与花火形成着对角线呼应，虽不如烟火璀璨，但充满着生活气息。烟火气与人情味，正是广重作品永恒生命力的来源。
It’s a summer evening, and night has fallen on Edo. And so the fun begins. Desperate for relief from the sweltering heat, but also out for a good time, residents flock to the shores of the Sumida River and onto the river itself. Pleasure boats ride the current and dart in and out and among the pylons of graceful Ryogoku Bridge.
We’ve seen this bridge in many prints by Hiroshige, as well as Yoshitoshi and others.We are also familiar with the types of boats we see – such as the small yanebune with their slanted roofs and shoji screens that can be rented for an evening of food, fun and live music. Other small, oar-powered wooden boats weave in and out of this nautical traffic jam, selling snacks and drink.
But we rarely see this particular view, because it’s a view no human has seen at this point in history; maybe a bird, but never a person. While some suggest Hiroshige is providing the vantage point of a luxurious teahouse, it seems too high for that. Indeed, it’s almost as if we are up in the air with the fireworks.
And what a show it is! Many a night summertime Edo resonated with the boom of fireworks and the sparkling light they shined down upon on the lantern-lit city. (Let’s set aside for a moment whether this was a good idea in a city made of wood and paper.) This is one of the most famous prints from Hiroshige’s late-career masterpiece “100 Famous Views of Edo” and he embraces the series’ vertical format for all it’s worth. The fireworks, wonderfully printed, burst way, way up in the sky, dramatically contrasting dark heavens textured with rich woodgrain. They even seem to blast their way into the wonderfully elaborate title cartouche, a signature of this, the deluxe version of a marvelous print.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
名所江户百景 两国花火
Fireworks at Ryogoku, from the series of 100 Famous Views of Edo
1858
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 35.8cm x 25.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 35.8cm x 25.5cm
奢华版；非常早期的印刷带清晰的木纹和云母；颜色鲜艳；边缘经修剪
Deluxe edition; fine impression and color with beautiful woodgrain and mica; slight trimming to the margins
夜空中定格的花火，是永存的刹那芳华。
《名所江户百景》是歌川广重于1856至1858年创作的竖版名所绘系列，为广重晚年乃至整个创作生涯中艺术水准最高的代表作之一。全系列包括目录在内共计119幅，以四季为主题，分为春夏秋冬四部。
本作属于其中的秋之部，是全系列中最负盛名的大名作之一，描绘了江户城隅田川上“两国开河”烟花大会的盛况。且值得一提的是，从标题章格外清晰的底纹与精良的云母摺可知，本作的版本是一个早期的奢华版本，十分罕见且珍贵。
让我们回到画面。画中广重选择了他惯用的类似无人机航拍的俯瞰视角，将隅田川、两国桥以及江户城的远景压缩进画面下半部，为如天鹅绒般的夜幕与朵朵腾空的花火留足了舞台。河川中穿梭的条条小舟与屋形船的船头统一朝向画面右下方，与横跨的两国桥交叉形成了强烈的几何张力。平日里鳞次栉比的江户城建筑群，因华丽的云母摺技法的加持显得颇为沉静，此刻仅以剪影般的黑色轮廓示人。毕竟，当所有的目光都聚焦于夜空时，一切都将退居为模糊的背景——
画面右上角，绽放的烟花停留在最灿烂的一刻，金黄色的光芒在深灰中显得更为明亮；即将坠落的一道抛物线火光，使得观者的目光又回到河川之上——船中，星星点点的橘红灯火与花火形成着对角线呼应，虽不如烟火璀璨，但充满着生活气息。烟火气与人情味，正是广重作品永恒生命力的来源。
It’s a summer evening, and night has fallen on Edo. And so the fun begins. Desperate for relief from the sweltering heat, but also out for a good time, residents flock to the shores of the Sumida River and onto the river itself. Pleasure boats ride the current and dart in and out and among the pylons of graceful Ryogoku Bridge.
We’ve seen this bridge in many prints by Hiroshige, as well as Yoshitoshi and others.We are also familiar with the types of boats we see – such as the small yanebune with their slanted roofs and shoji screens that can be rented for an evening of food, fun and live music. Other small, oar-powered wooden boats weave in and out of this nautical traffic jam, selling snacks and drink.
But we rarely see this particular view, because it’s a view no human has seen at this point in history; maybe a bird, but never a person. While some suggest Hiroshige is providing the vantage point of a luxurious teahouse, it seems too high for that. Indeed, it’s almost as if we are up in the air with the fireworks.
And what a show it is! Many a night summertime Edo resonated with the boom of fireworks and the sparkling light they shined down upon on the lantern-lit city. (Let’s set aside for a moment whether this was a good idea in a city made of wood and paper.) This is one of the most famous prints from Hiroshige’s late-career masterpiece “100 Famous Views of Edo” and he embraces the series’ vertical format for all it’s worth. The fireworks, wonderfully printed, burst way, way up in the sky, dramatically contrasting dark heavens textured with rich woodgrain. They even seem to blast their way into the wonderfully elaborate title cartouche, a signature of this, the deluxe version of a marvelous print.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Ando Hiroshige (1897-1858) revolutionized the art of landscape prints during the Edo era, building on the success of his senior, Hokusai, but taking a more poetic and naturalist approach to portraying the beauty of Japan.
The son of a low-level Samurai assigned to the fire brigade in Edo, Hiroshige became a student of the Utagawa school as a young man. His first prints focused on beautiful women (bijin), and views of Edo. But in 1833 he began work on his most famous early work, his first series depicting the Tokaido, the "Great Sea Road" between Edo and Tokyo.
Today there is some controversy about this series. Initially, it was believed that Hiroshige had travelled the route along with a local lord (Daimyo) who was making a gift of horses to the Emperor. But more recent scholarship suggests Hiroshige never travelled the road himself, at least not the entire way, and made his designs using published guidebooks.
Nonetheless, the prints were wonderful and revolutionary. They embraced the seasons with a gentle lyricism missing from Hokusai's striking but stylized depictions. In Hiroshige's work, nature is sacred -- but it is always mixed with humanity, with travelers or little inns or bridges. There is a magical harmony between man and the elements.
His depiction of the seasons and weather is especially evocative. Snow blankets some views with a hushed silence, while rain streaks down furiously in others. In some prints natured is agitated; in others, calm prevails. Produced in a horizontal oban yoko-e format, the series was a smash hit.
The Tokaido series made Hiroshige famous, and he became incredible prolific. In the 1840s he produced many strong designs, but many mediocre ones, too, including several subsequent Tokaido series of varying quality.
In 1853, however, he made a big step. He turned his landscapes sideways, embracing a bold vertical oban tate-e format. This gave his designs new energy and a modern feel. The first of these was Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces. From them on, most of his most noted series were executed in this format.
He saved his greatest for his last. In 1856 he began work on 100 Famous Views of Edo, which many consider his most exceptional work. Here his home city was portrayed with energy and passion, and in these 119 designs he created an incredible record of a vanished place. In addition to the striking vertical format, he developed exciting new compositions, often juxtaposing a strong foreground element with a distant background.
Among the many famous images in this series are Squall at Ohashi and the Plum Garden in Komeido. Both of these were copied by Vincent Van Gogh, a great admirer of Hiroshige. Thus, the great Japanese artist had a profound effect on Western art.
Alas, his beloved Edo ended his life. Hiroshige was claimed by a cholera epidemic that swept the city in 1958. His pupil Shigenobu, who took the name Hiroshige II, completed The Famous Views of Edo.