Precincts of Kameido Tenjin Shrine (Kameido Tenjin keidai), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
36.5 × 24.5 cm (14 3/8 × 9 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
150303
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this summer scene, purple wisteria hangs down over an arched bridge. This setting was well-known to Edoites but also became famous in Europe from Monet’s many paintings of a similar bridge he had constructed at his garden in Giverny. The copious use of gradation and the multicolored title cartouche in the upper right indicate that this is a high-quality, early impression of Hiroshige’s design.
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...