Hiroshige S Japan

Journey along the famed Tokaido Road--an ancient thoroughfare with a modern twist. The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido is the best-known work of the great 19th century Japanese woodblock artist Utagawa Hiroshige. The series of 53 masterful woodblock prints depicts stops along the ancient Tokaido road--which, from the eleventh to the nineteenth century, was the main thoroughfare between Tokyo and Kyoto. Though the road itself is now submerged under Japan's twenty-first-century urban landscape, French artist Philippe Delord set out to see if he could find the original locations, with just a moped, sketchbook, watercolors and a book of Hiroshige's prints. Hiroshige's Japan allows readers to make the journey alongside Delord, venturing from Tokyo and Mount Fuji to mountain passes and rugged coastlines. Inside are all 53 original scenery prints made by Hiroshige, alongside their modern-day equivalent by Delord. A lively commentary about his experiences as he tries to locate each of the 53 scenes (without speaking Japanese!) offers readers an insightful, and often humorous, look into both modern and historical Japan. Part travelogue, part work of art, this book is sure to delight armchair travelers, history buffs, art enthusiasts and Japanophiles alike!

This work presents colour reproductions, details and full explanations of theasterpieces that crown the work of one of the greatest ukiyo-e artists, Andoiroshige.

With Hokusai, Utamaro and Kuniyoshi, Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) is one of the great protagonists of ukiyo-e . With respect to Hokusai, whom he constantly compared himself to, since he was around thirty years younger, Hiroshige made landscape and nature the focus of his work by instilling in the viewer a sense of harmony, serenity and peace that, still today, is universally admired. In fact, thanks to these qualities he is one of the most praised artists and is considered the "master of nature". Hiroshige renders the human figure with quick, direct lines that at times call to mind manga and anime sketches, though simplified and essential. This monograph presents a selection of around 230 works from the most important series by Hiroshige, including views of famous places in the capital of Edo as well as in the farthest provinces, but also a body of work with the most admirable images portraying animals, flowers and insects plus original drawings and print plates that are still intact. This publication, which covers the Japanese master's entire career, is divided into eight themed sections that discuss the most important series in a thorough and illustrative way: Early Works; Travel Images; Flowers, Birds and the Moon; Views of Distant Places; View of the Oriental Capital; Hiroshige: Life and Work; Hiroshige and His Print Work: Contemporaries and the West.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) designed a series of seventy landscapes depicting the provinces of Japan between 1854 and 1856. It was the first in a number of sets from the highly productive years of his later life. The designs comprising "Famous Places in the 60-Odd Provinces (Rokuju yoshu meisho zue) are taken from all corners of Japan, thus representing an enormous innovation in the choice of subject matter. Large sets published before this had depicted the famous routes between Edo and Kyoto, the Tokaido and the Kisokaido, but Hiroshige had never before ventured beyond these well-known themes/ The Japanese countryside was already depicted in graphic art, but mostly in travelers' guidebooks and not as full color prints. With this set, Hiroshige brought the Japanese countryside closer to the urban population. It evidently met with high acclaim: the publisher Koshimuraya Heisuke produced a large number of impressions. In this study, the author Marije Jansen briefly discusses Hiroshige's life and the formal aspects of this series. Jansen takes as her point of departure the set in possession of the German collector Gerhard Pulverer, which is generally acknowledged to be a superb example of a first edition, and compares this series to a number of other sets in public and private collections. The detectable printing variations in each design are carefully analyzed, making this an indispensable tool for collectors.

Hiroshige. Shaping the Image of Japan is a comprehensive overview of Utagawa Hiroshige's work as a woodblock print artist. Hiroshige (1797-1858) is one of the great masters in the history of Japanese printmaking and has worked in virtually every genre of ukiyo-e or 'images of the floating world'. He achieved his greatest fame through his depictions of the Japanese landscape, which were not only popular in Japan, but also found favor with European artists at the turn of the 19th century.

Introduction; Poet Peregrine; famous views; resume of Hiroshige's life; maps; plates - Japanese wood-block printing - Pictures of the floating world - ukiyo-e artists.

Donated: The Margaret A. Bailey Art Collection.