Moonlight night with a man poling a small boat as the moon rises from behind a grove of trees. Utagawa Hiroshige, born in 1797 in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, is recognized as one of the last great masters of the Ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) tradition. His genius for landscape compositions was first recognized in the West by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Hiroshige’s prints memorialized everyday life in the late Edo period, presenting a vision of Japan where the changing of the seasons and associated festivities were central. His work, particularly his series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,” had widespread appeal within Japan and abroad. Hiroshige interpreted famous sites through the lens of everyday experience, giving his prints mass appeal and allowing the Japanese public to feel emotionally involved with their native landscape. His focus on seasonal phenomena, fleeting weather conditions, or festivities marked the passing of time¹. Hiroshige’s work, alongside that of Katsushika Hokusai, popularized Japanese art and aesthetics in Europe. He passed away on October 12, 1858.
Unknown Date/Japan