Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo (Fukagawa Susaki Jumantsubo), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
33.3 × 22 cm (13 1/8 × 8 11/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
26605
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This design of a golden eagle about to swoop down on its prey is one of the most popular in the series. Hiroshige depicted the bird up close, with its wings spanning the composition. Below, we have a bird’s-eye view of snow-covered Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay), the body of water next to the capital. The artist and 19th-century viewers could only imagine such an aerial view.
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), born Andō Tokutarō, was the last great master of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking and one of the most influential landscape artists in history. Born in Edo (modern Tokyo) into a low-ranking samurai family serving as fire wardens, Hiroshige transformed landscape printmaking into a poetic meditation on nature, weather, and everyday life. His revolutionary approac...