Hiroshige | Nihonbashi, Upright Tokaido
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
五十三次名所图绘 日本桥
Nihonbashi, from the series of Pictures of Famous Places of the 53 Stations
1855
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36.5m x 24.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36.5m x 24.5cm
早期的版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好；右边边缘有几个先前册页小洞
Early impression; fine color; few tiny holes from previous album binding in the right margin, otherwise in good condition
Hiroshige’s 1855 “Upright Tokaido” (also known as the “Vertical Tokaido”) took classic views of the Great Sea Road and turned them on their sides, literally. By switching to the oban tate-e format, the artist was able to accentuate the verticality of the Japanese landscape, and give us extended bird’s eye views, as he does here.
The series must have been popular, because there were numerous variations. As the years went on, each was more basic than the one that came before. Wonderful details like bokashi faded away. Later examples even have synthetic purple dye in the skies, which would date them in the 1860s. And then there was a garishly colored Meiji edition.
But not this one. This is one of the earliest printings, in pristine shape. The bokashi is subtle and skillfully applied, the lines of the key-block perfectly aligned with the color blocks. The rich natural purple of the glove clouds on the top and bottom demonstrate just how good this example is.
Nihonbashi was the starting point for the Tokaido, and the point from which all distances were measured in Japan. (Today, its modern descendant soldiers on ingloriously beneath a highway overpass.) This view, which would be echoed later in a snow scene from “100 Famous Views of Edo” and Hiroshige’s famous “Sudden Squall at Ohashi,” features a bold composition of the arching bridge against diagonal shores, with Edo Castle in the upper right and, in the upper left, Fuji-san calmly watching over all.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
五十三次名所图绘 日本桥
Nihonbashi, from the series of Pictures of Famous Places of the 53 Stations
1855
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36.5m x 24.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36.5m x 24.5cm
早期的版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好；右边边缘有几个先前册页小洞
Early impression; fine color; few tiny holes from previous album binding in the right margin, otherwise in good condition
Hiroshige’s 1855 “Upright Tokaido” (also known as the “Vertical Tokaido”) took classic views of the Great Sea Road and turned them on their sides, literally. By switching to the oban tate-e format, the artist was able to accentuate the verticality of the Japanese landscape, and give us extended bird’s eye views, as he does here.
The series must have been popular, because there were numerous variations. As the years went on, each was more basic than the one that came before. Wonderful details like bokashi faded away. Later examples even have synthetic purple dye in the skies, which would date them in the 1860s. And then there was a garishly colored Meiji edition.
But not this one. This is one of the earliest printings, in pristine shape. The bokashi is subtle and skillfully applied, the lines of the key-block perfectly aligned with the color blocks. The rich natural purple of the glove clouds on the top and bottom demonstrate just how good this example is.
Nihonbashi was the starting point for the Tokaido, and the point from which all distances were measured in Japan. (Today, its modern descendant soldiers on ingloriously beneath a highway overpass.) This view, which would be echoed later in a snow scene from “100 Famous Views of Edo” and Hiroshige’s famous “Sudden Squall at Ohashi,” features a bold composition of the arching bridge against diagonal shores, with Edo Castle in the upper right and, in the upper left, Fuji-san calmly watching over all.
Interested in purchasing?
Please contact us.
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
五十三次名所图绘 日本桥
Nihonbashi, from the series of Pictures of Famous Places of the 53 Stations
1855
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36.5m x 24.5cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36.5m x 24.5cm
早期的版次；颜色鲜艳；品相非常好；右边边缘有几个先前册页小洞
Early impression; fine color; few tiny holes from previous album binding in the right margin, otherwise in good condition
Hiroshige’s 1855 “Upright Tokaido” (also known as the “Vertical Tokaido”) took classic views of the Great Sea Road and turned them on their sides, literally. By switching to the oban tate-e format, the artist was able to accentuate the verticality of the Japanese landscape, and give us extended bird’s eye views, as he does here.
The series must have been popular, because there were numerous variations. As the years went on, each was more basic than the one that came before. Wonderful details like bokashi faded away. Later examples even have synthetic purple dye in the skies, which would date them in the 1860s. And then there was a garishly colored Meiji edition.
But not this one. This is one of the earliest printings, in pristine shape. The bokashi is subtle and skillfully applied, the lines of the key-block perfectly aligned with the color blocks. The rich natural purple of the glove clouds on the top and bottom demonstrate just how good this example is.
Nihonbashi was the starting point for the Tokaido, and the point from which all distances were measured in Japan. (Today, its modern descendant soldiers on ingloriously beneath a highway overpass.) This view, which would be echoed later in a snow scene from “100 Famous Views of Edo” and Hiroshige’s famous “Sudden Squall at Ohashi,” features a bold composition of the arching bridge against diagonal shores, with Edo Castle in the upper right and, in the upper left, Fuji-san calmly watching over all.
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.