Title page and list of contents for "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)"
c. 1858/59
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
35.7 × 23.8 cm (14 1/16 × 9 5/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
93448
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Baisotei Gengyo produced this title page for the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo after Hiroshige’s death in 1858 or 1859. Baisotei was a book jacket designer who had created decorative tables of contents for another of Hiroshige’s series. Here, the table of contents groups the prints into seasons, which may not have been the artist’s or publisher’s original intention.
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...