Color woodcut, ink, paper, 37.5x25.5 cm, artist's signature
Hiroshige's beautiful design depicting the winter scenery of the riverfront in Sukiya. Travelers and porters stroll on a stone bridge, all around is tranquility, the wharf, boats and buildings are covered with snow, and Mount Fuji majestically dominates the background.
"Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji." In Japan, Mount Fuji is a sacred place and a symbol of the country. Rising majestically near the center of Japan, Fuji dominates the landscape and national identity of the Japanese people. Hiroshige completed the designs for his last series, "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji," in 1858. Following the tradition established by Hokusai, Hiroshige's magnificent series depicts the mountain in each of the four seasons, from different vantage points. Hiroshige used the vertical oban format to create dramatic and breathtaking views of this most revered monument. Views include the urban center of Edo, admiring cherry blossoms in a small village, and fantastic waves crashing on the shore at Awa. Rarer than some of his better-known series, "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" is one of Hiroshige's best series in vertical format.
These classic designs were reproduced by famed Tokyo publisher Oedo Mokuhansha during a period of renewed interest in ukiyo-e (second half of the 20th century). Like many traditional businesses, the craft of woodblock printmaking was passed down from generation to generation, and the Oedo Mokuhansha company was founded by descendants of an Edo period publisher. These are beautiful prints of the highest quality standards and an excellent choice for those looking for high-quality reissues of old woodcuts.
Hiroshige Andō, also known as Hiroshige Utagawa, is one of Japan's best-known painters and printmakers. His father, Andō Genuemon, was a low-ranking samurai and fire brigade officer. From the age of sixteen, Hiroshige studied in the studio of Utagawa Toyohira, under whose tutelage he developed his skills and talent. Young Hiroshige soaked up the artistic atmosphere while helping in the daily life of his father's brigade. It wasn't until he was 27 that he fully decided to follow the path of artistic creation. After his teacher's death in 1822, he was offered to take over the studio after his master, but Hiroshige declined the offer and set his sights on independence. Hiroshige's artistic output has not been fully catalogued to this day, but it is estimated that some 5,000 works were created, primarily in the color woodcut technique. He began his career with portraits of beautiful women (bijin-ga) and images of kabuki actors (yakusha-e), but after the death of his teacher he focused primarily on native landscapes. Hiroshige came from a samurai family, however, he identified with bourgeois Edo culture. He became primarily known as the creator of landscape series such as Fifty-three Stations on the Tōkaidō Road(Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi), One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo(Meisho Edo hyakkei) and Sixty-nine Stations on the Kisokaidō Road(Kisokaidō rokujūkyū tsugi no uchi). He masterfully depicted the landscape at different times of the year and day, and was interested in weather phenomena. He experimented with effects and composition and used unconventional shortcuts. A unique element in his works is the depiction of atmospheric phenomena such as snowfall or rainfall, as well as gales and storms. On the other hand, he was interested in the phenomenon of shadow and its effect both in the landscape and domestic interiors.
