EXQUISITE NEW WORLDS
Week 8 Class Notes, 2 December, 2019
HIROSHIGE (1797-1858) AND HIS LEGACY
His Work outside the Landscape Genre
Hiroshige began designing nature studies around 1830. The majority show birds and flowers, though some are just flowers and some feature creatures other than birds.
Rose by Hiroshige, c. 1830s
The MET, New York
Swallows and Budding Wild Cherry
By Hiroshige, c. 1830s
The MET, New York
Monkey and Cherry Blossoms, by Hiroshige, c. 1835
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
Fish, Duck, and Bush Clover, by Hiroshige, c. 1830s
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Nature designs came in a variety of sizes, from small (koban) to large (oban). Generally they were one half, one third, or one quarter of an oban. The following shows an oban sheet printed with four koban designs. Small lines are printed for guides to show where the sheet should be cut.
Peach Blossoms and Bullfinch, Bamboo and Sparrows, Camellia and Warbler, Hibiscus and Ducks
By Hiroshige, c. 1830
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Certain subjects appear frequently, such as pairs of mandarin ducks, as these birds represented fidelity and a happy marriage.
Two pairs of Mandarin Ducks (chuban)
By Hiroshige, c. 1830s
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
It was common to include a poem on nature prints. The poem on the following print showing a solitary male mandarin duck reads:
The morning tempest
Sees even mandarin ducks
Go separate ways.
Mandarin Duck on a Snowy Bank
By Hiroshige, c. 1830s
Art Institute of Chicago
It is interesting to compare a print of mandarin ducks in snow by Hokusai with one by Hiroshige:
Two Ducks in Snow
By Hokusi, c. 1820
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
Mandarin Ducks and Snow-covered Bamboo
By Hiroshige, c. 1840-44
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Hokusai’s designs tend to show more detail in both the birds and the flowers. Here are sparrows by both artists:
Sparrows and Chrysanthemums
By Hokusai, 1825
The MET, New York
Sparrows and Camelia in Snow
By Hiroshige, c. 1831-33
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Sometimes Hiroshige spread one design across two oban (large) sheets to create a vertical diptych that might be mounted as a hanging scroll.
Crane, Pine and Rising Sun
By Hiroshige, c.1852-53
Vertical diptych
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
Hiroshige was the first to design a ukiyo-e series featuring fish. The designs are somewhat stiff, but early editions are extremely beautifully printed.
Horse Mackerel, Prawns and Seaweed
By Hokusai, c.1832-33
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
Trout
By Hokusai, c.1832-33
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Many artists designed prints to be pasted onto summer fans. Hiroshige produced some exquisite nature and landscape prints for fans.
Chrysanthemums and Insect
By Hiroshige, c.1840s
The MET, New York
Floating Fireworks at Ryogoku
By Hiroshige, c. 1829
British Museum
Some fans were printed as aizuri-e (all blue).
Bush Warbler on a Plum Tree in Moonlight
By Hiroshige, c. 1840-42
V&A, London
Another subject tackled by both Hokusai and Hiroshige was the story of the 47 Ronin as depicted in the kabuki play Chushingura. Here is how each presented Act 5. In this act, one of the ronin is out hunting for boar. He chances to meet another of the group. Meanwhile a thief encounters an old man (the first man’s father-in-law) whom he robs and murders. By this time the hunter has resumed the hunt, however it is a dark, rainy day. He shoots at a boar, but hits the thief, whom he has not seen.
Hokusai’s is far more detailed. He combines everything into one design, though he does not show the rain. Hiroshige confines himself to the scene of the thief with the old man and presents the dark, rainy day beautifully.
Act 5 from the series: The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers, a Primer
By Hokusai, 1806
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Act 5 from the series: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, Sadakuro Threatening Yoichibei
By Hiroshige, c. 1840
The MET, New York
Hiroshige begun his artistic career producing designs of beauties and actors, the most common subjects of Utagawa School artists. In the 1840s the government forbade prints of courtesans and actors as part of the Tempo Reforms and Utagawa artists turned to literary and historic themes as subjects for prints. Hiroshige also produced prints in these genres.
Uguisuzuka from series: Filial Piety and Revenge
By Hiroshige, 1844
Honolulu Museum of Art
Sometimes Hiroshige worked in collaboration with his fellow Utagawa School artists Kunisada (1786-1865) and Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). For example, all three artists contributed designs for a series published 1845-48 based on the famous anthology of Heian poets called One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets.
Poem by Koko Tenno: Tomoe Gozen
Ogura Parallels of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets
By Hiroshige, 1845-48
Museum of Fine Art, Boston
Sometimes Hiroshige and Kunisada collaborated more directly, both working on the same design. Kunisada was the most successful figure artist of 19th century Japan, so Kunisada designed people for the foreground and Hiroshige designed a landscape background. They did this for an oban (large size) Tokaido series published 1854-57 and for a number of triptychs.
In the following triptych showing an updated Prince Genji set in the 19th century (The Tales of Genji was written in the Heian Period around the year 1000) Kunisada has designed the central figure of Genji and his signature appears on the center panel. Hiroshige’s signature appears on the left and right panels.
The Plum Orchard, from series: Elegant Price Genji
By Hiroshige and Kunisada, 1853
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
In this triptych, also of the updated Prince Genji, Genji watches women building a snow rabbit. Hiroshige’s signature is on the center panel and Kunisada’s signature appears on either end panel.
Eastern Genji: The Garden in Snow
By Hiroshige and Kunisada, 1854
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Hiroshige also designed many triptychs solo.
Snow Scene at Shinobazu Pond in Ueno
by Hiroshige, 1848-49
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
In this wonderfully creative triptych Hiroshige shows us the 12th century warlord, Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181) seeing visions of all those he has killed.
Taira no Kiyomori's Spectral Vision
By Hiroshige, c.1845
Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181)
The MET, New York
Landscapes
Hiroshige began designing landscape prints at the beginning of the 1830s. His first were views of Edo and his “hit” bestseller was the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road published c. 1833-34. Following that he completed the series on the stations of the Kisokaido Road begun by Eisen and designed many more Tokaido series, series showing Edo landmarks, as well as some small series showing views of other well-known places.
Cherry Trees in Full Bloom at Arashiyama from the series Famous Views of Kyoto
By Hiroshige, 1834
The MET, New York
View of Dôtonbori (the Doton Canal) from the series Famous Views of Osaka
By Hiroshige, c. 1834
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Night Rain at Karasaki from the series Eight Views of Omi (the area around Lake Biwa, near Kyoto)
By Hiroshige, c. 1834-35
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Hiroshige’s scenes of Edo from the 1830s and 40s show places popular with tourists, scenes of festivals, and locations in Edo known for their natural beauty.
Cherry-blossom Viewing at Asuka Hill
By Hiroshige, c.1835-38
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Hill of Benten Shrine at Kinryûzan Temple in Asakusa
By Hiroshige, c. 1840-47
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
The Sannô Festival Parade at Kasumigaseki
By Hiroshige, c.1840-42
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
A dance performance at dawn on New Year’s Day at Shinmei Shrine in Shiba.
By Hiroshige, c.1847-52
The chief market for these sorts of Edo scenes was probably visitors to Edo. Visitors would include those who travelled because of their occupations, such as merchants and all of the lower ranked samurai who would accompany their daimyo on his trips to Edo to perform his duties under the system of alternate attendance. Many of these men would take time to see some of the sights of the big city and probably bought these prints as souvenirs or for friends and family back home. By the 19th century the travel industry was well developed and many ordinary people were travelling purely for the fun and adventure of it too.
The following print from Hiroshige’s last series shows a village group who have been to visit the Zojoji Temple, a large and important Buddhist complex where some of the Tokugawa shoguns were buried (very close to today’s Tokyo Tower) and the nearby Shiba Shinmei Shrine. The main gate to the Temple can be seen on the left at the end of the street and the Shinto Shrine buildings are on the right.
Shiba Shinmei Shrine and Zojoji Temple from the One Hundred Views of Edo
By Hiroshige, 1858
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The publisher’s shop location might have played some part in Hiroshige’s great success at selling souvenir prints of Edo. One of his publishers was located in the Shiba area, right on the Tokaido Road, the main route into Edo from the south and west. Another publisher was located close to the Ryogoku Bridge, Hiroshige’s most frequently depicted subject.
Hiroshige’s Personal Life
Hiroshige had passed his fire warden job to the son of a relative, Ando Tetsuzo, in 1823. In 1832 Tetsuzo passed the position to Hiroshige’s own son, Nakajiro. Nakajiro gave up the position in 1841 and died in 1845.
Hiroshige’s first wife died in 1839. In 1847 he married Oyasu, a 16 year old farmer’s daughter. In 1851 Oyasu’s brother, a priest, was banished for having had an illicit affair. Hiroshige adopted his wife’s brother’s daughter Otatsu.
Otatsu would marry two of Hiroshige’s pupils: first Shigenobu (1826-69) who became Hiroshige II when Hiroshige died, and then Shigemasu (1843-94) who became Hiroshige III when Shigenobu died.
Hiroshige’s Landscape Series of the 1850s
In the 1850s Hiroshige moved away from the “touristy” landscape views of Edo and the Tokaido Road that he had been producing during the 1830s and 40s. It is clear from existing copies that many were printed until the blocks were completely worn (so possibly around 10,000 copies), so they sold well. Perhaps the publishers had sufficient stocks of these prints, or perhaps Hiroshige needed new challenges, but in any case in the 1850s Hiroshige seems to have devoted himself pretty much exclusively to fresh, new landscape themes.
Prior to the 1850s all of Hiroshige’s oban (large) landscapes had been in a horizontal format, the traditional European landscape format. From 1853-56 he designed a large series called Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces in a vertical format. He may have wanted to try something different, or possibly he was inspired by older and more traditional Japanese landscapes that were usually in a vertical format. The series included designs of places in 68 provinces – all but the most northern provinces – and one design representing Edo. When the series had been completed a contents page was added and it was issued as a set of 70 prints.
Harima Province, Maiko Beach
From Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces
By Hiroshige, 1853
The MET, New York
Shinano Province, Moon Reflected in the Sarashina Paddy-fields, Mount Kyôda
From Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces
By Hiroshige,1853
Harvard Art Museum
Hiroshige said that he worked from original sketches, and it is likely that he usually did, but in this case he couldn’t have as he didn’t travel to all the places shown in the Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces series. He used illustrated travel books and books on famous scenic places in Japan by other artists as the basis for his designs of places he hadn’t seen. As these book illustrations were generally in a vertical format, that might also have influenced his choice of this format.
Mimasaka Province, Yamabushi Valley
From Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces
By Hiroshige,1853
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Awa Province, Naruto Whirlpools
From Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces
By Hiroshige, 1855
The British Museum
This last design of the Whirlpools in Awa Province is considered to be the masterpiece of this series. The whirlpools are still a tourist attraction.
Before the completion of the Provinces series Hiroshige began a Tokaido Road series in a vertical oban format, the only one of his many Tokaido series in this format. This series came out in 1855. By this time Commodore Perry from the U.S.A. had visited Japan twice (1853 and 1854) and forced the Japanese to sign a trade treaty. Japan’s period of seclusion was coming to an end as European nations also sought to trade with Japan. None of this impending change is evident in Hiroshige’s designs
Fujikawa, Yamanaka Village
From Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido
By Hiroshige, 1855
The British Museum
Hara, View of Fuji and the Ashitaka Mountains
From Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido
By Hiroshige, 1855
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Numazu, Ashigara and Fuji after Snow
From Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido
By Hiroshige, 1855
The British Museum
This last scene of Numazu is considered to be the finest design of this series.
One of the most popular themes in Japanese art is that of snow, moon and flowers, three of nature’s most beautiful sights. In 1857 Hiroshige designed three amazing landscape triptychs (3 oban size sheets) on these themes.
Mountain River on the Kisokaido
By Hiroshige, 1857
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
View of Kanazawa at Night
By Hiroshige, 1857
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
View of the Whirlpools at Awa
By Hiroshige, 1857
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
In this last design the whirlpools represent flowers.
Hiroshige also tackled the theme of the Thirty Six Views of Fuji in a vertical format in 1858.
Field at Otsuki in Kai Province
Thirty-six Views of Fuji
By Hiroshige, 1858
The MET, New York
Oi River in Suruga Province
Thirty-six Views of Fuji
By Hiroshige, 1858
The British Museum
The Sea off Satta in Suruga Province
Thirty-six Views of Fuji
By Hiroshige,1858
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
This last design, The Sea off Satta, is considered to be Hiroshige’s best wave design.
Hiroshige went back to a horizontal format for another series of 20 images that he designed in 1858 called Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas. The cartouche that appears on each print in this series is in the shape of the stylized fan used by the officials at sumo wrestling matches.
Kominato in Awa Province from the series Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas
By Hiroshige, 1858
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Mount Yuga in Bizen Province from the series Wrestling Matches between Mountains and Seas
By Hiroshige, 1858
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The series that many consider to have been Hiroshige’s greatest was begun in the year following a terrible earthquake. One hundred and twenty quakes and tremors were felt in Edo in 1854–55, then the great earthquake of 1855 struck after 10 o'clock in the evening of November 11. Much of the city was destroyed by fire and aftershocks continued for twenty days. Records from the time indicate 6,641 deaths and 2,759 injuries inside the city.
Hiroshige began work on his One Hundred Views of Edo in 1856, possibly to celebrate the reconstruction of the city. He was still working on the series when he died in 1858. It is unique among his landscape series for several reasons. It is the most ambitious. Even at 100 it would have been his largest series, but as it was successful Hiroshige exceeded the planned 100 designs, completing 118 before his death, making this the largest oban print series ever undertaken. He made greater use of the device of placing a portion of a person or object in the foreground than he had done in the past. This accentuated the sense of depth in those compositions and it forced the viewer to imagine the rest of the scene. Unlike the earlier “touristy” views of Edo, this series does not always focus on famous buildings or landmarks or crowds enjoying festivals. Instead, many of the designs from this series are set in the vicinity of these things and allude to them, but do not show them directly. These are designs not for tourists, but for residents of Edo who would appreciate the subtly and cleverness of the references. It was the most personal of all of Hiroshige’s series. He had lived his life in the center of Edo and would have known these places intimately.
As with his first great Tokaido series there are many editions of the One Hundred Views of Edo. Typically the earlier printings are nicer, using more bokashi (shading) and more overprinting to give richer colours. There is a beautiful deluxe edition of this series.
The most famous design from The One Hundred Views of Edo is commonly called “Ohashi”. Here are several versions of this design.
Sudden Shower over Shin Ohashi Bridge and Atake
From One Hundred Views of Edo, by Hiroshige, 1857
Left: British Museum
Middle: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Right: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The earliest is probably the one on the left. Woodgrain from the cherry block is visible in the sky. With repeated printings the surface of the block becomes smooth and the grain disappears from the print. Also, this version of the print has two boats by the far shore. These are missing from all other printings.
The middle print is the deluxe state. Note the extra colour in the square cartouche and the deeper colour in the red cartouche (due to overprinting). Also, note the extra bokashi (shading) on and under the bridge. Both this and the first print have a distinctive, uneven sort of bokashi creating especially menacing storm clouds along the top.
The print on the right represents the most common state of this design. It has even bokashi along the top, less colour in the cartouches, and no shading around the bridge. One lovely feature that is shared by all impressions of this design is the two sets of lines representing rain, printed from two different blocks. One set is more angled than the other, and printed more lightly than the other. This gives the rain a greater sense of intensity than had been seen in earlier rain scenes.
The following is a great example of a design where Hiroshige has placed parts of objects in the foreground, creating an interesting landscape with a sense of depth as well as an imagined larger scene for Edo residents.
Nihonbashi and Edobashi
From One Hundred Views of Edo
By Hiroshige, 1857
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Here we are on Nihonbashi Bridge. You may recall looking at four different versions of a design for Nihonbashi Bridge from Hiroshige’s first Tokaido series last week. This couldn’t be more different. Hiroshige designed approximately 50 scenes of Nihonbashi Bridge and this one is quite unique. We see very little of the bridge and no people at all in the foreground, yet they are there. We recognize the bridge from the partially cut-off post on the left and the portion of railing. We are facing east and it is dawn. If you look along the horizon you will see the sun rising above the warehouse roofs. Edo residents would know the bridge would be busy with travellers at this time of the morning, as it is in the Tokaido design. Moreover fishermen would be bringing their catch across the bridge to the fish market. We see just a part of one bucket containing fish that is one of a pair being carried by a fisherman. He is there, though we do not see him.
An earlier and more conventional Nihonbashi design from one of Hiroshige’s many Tokaido series makes for an interesting comparison. Here we face west and we see all of the sorts of people one would expect to encounter on the bridge:
Nihonbashi
From The Tokaido Road – The Fifty-three Stations
By Hiroshige, c. 1848-49
The MET, New York
Not all of the 100 Views of Edo series offer unconventional views of the city. In fact, some are very traditional views, such as this scene of a famous shopping street, Suruga-cho, close to Nihonbashi. Hiroshige gives us an almost old-fashioned design here. The viewpoint is from high above street level, the horizon is fairly high, there are stylized clouds or mist, and Mount Fuji appears much larger than it should.
Suruga-cho
From One Hundred Views of Edo
By Hiroshige, 1856
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
Here, for comparison, is one of Hiroshige’s earlier views of the same street. This one has a quite realistic sense of perspective, as can be seen if we compare it with a contemporary view of the exact same location (the department store on the left is the modern version of the shop that is there on the corner in Hiroshige’s print). I suspect that Mount Fuji is still depicted larger than it would have really appeared, though that is impossible to compare as high-rise buildings now completely block that view.
Suruga-cho
From Famous Places of the Eastern Capital
By Hiroshige, c.1843-47
Compared to the same corner today
Here is another example of a large cropped object in the foreground and objects which reference something not seen.
Ushimachi, Takanawa
One Hundred Views of Edo
By Hiroshige, 1857
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Takanawa was on the outskirts of Edo, on the Tokaido Road. It was famous for having a lovely view of the moon and an annual festival called “26th Night” was held there. Food stalls were set up and there was entertainment. People stayed up all night to get a glimpse of the new moon on the horizon. Takanawa was also the place where ships transporting building supplies to Edo would dock. Heavy building material would be transported into the city in ox carts, which were kept there. Edo residents would instantly recognize the location of this print as Takanawa by the half of the ox cart that is placed in the foreground. Moreover they would know that this is the day following the “26th Night” festival by the discarded straw sandal and the watermelon rinds. Watermelon slices were one of the treats sold at the festival. The crescents formed by the half wagon-wheel, the rainbow, and the watermelon rinds all suggest the crescent moon that people would have stayed up to see.
Some of the scenes from Hiroshige’s One Hundred Views of Edo still influence parts of the city today. It’s impossible to say whether Hiroshige was just depicting things that were very well-known and well-loved by the Edo townsfolk, or whether his prints influenced the lasting popularity of these things, but some of the views Hiroshige shows us are lovingly preserved, or recreated, in today’s Tokyo.
Moon Pine at Ueno
From One Hundred Views of Edo
By Hiroshige, 1857
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
And the present Moon Pine at Ueno today
In Hiroshige’s print above we see Shinobazu Pond through the branch of the Moon Pine and the Benten Shrine on an island at bottom right. Today a pine tree has been trained to resemble Hiroshige’s Moon Pine and the Bentendo Temple is on the island, visible in the photo through the trees at the right. Shiobazu Pond would also be visible in the photo if it weren’t for all the trees.
Legacy
In 1858 there was a terrible cholera epidemic. As many as 28,000 may have died in Edo at that time, Hiroshige among them.
Kunisada, Hiroshige friend and occasional collaborator, designed a memorial portrait of the great artist sitting serenely holding Buddhist prayer beads. Hiroshige had shaved his head and taken the vows of a Buddhist priest in 1856, when he was in his 60th year. This was a common practice as turning 60 was seen as a time for change, or a time for new beginnings.
Memorial Portrait of Hiroshige
By Kunisada (1786-1865), 1858
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
It is thought that he designed between 4000 and 4500 prints during his career. Approximately 1000-1500 were of Edo, approximately 800 were of the Tokaido, and there were approximately 800 more landscapes. In addition he designed prints of women, actors, historical figures, nature, and fan prints.
It was the tradition that an artist’s best pupil who was working in the master’s style would inherit the master’s name. And so Hirosige’s pupil Shigenobu (1826-69) became Hiroshige II. He was also Hiroshige’s son-in-law as he married his adopted daughter, Otatsu.
Hiroshige had designed 118 prints for the One Hundred Views of Edo series when he died (some say 116). Hiroshige II added one more design to the series (or perhaps three) for a total of 119. With the addition of an index page the series had 120 prints. Scholars agree that this design was by Hiroshige II:
Evening View of the Paulownia Trees at Akasaka
From One Hundred Views of Edo
By Hiroshige II, 1859
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
In general Hiroshige II’s designs were not as consistently good as his teacher’s, however he did create a few exquisite prints.
Snow at Kiso in Shinano
From 100 Views of Famous Places in the Provinces
By Hiroshige II, 1859
British Museum
Hiroshige died at the time the Japanese were being forced to negotiate with the U.S.A. and other nations wanting trade agreements. By 1859 Japan had treaties with five western nations and had designated the port city of Yokohama to be a foreign settlement and the center of foreign trade. This gave the Japanese access to a great deal more foreign material than had been seen previously and this, coupled with the great interest the public had in foreigners, resulted in a new genre of woodblock prints showing foreign subjects. Hiroshige II tackled some of this subject matter.
A Picture of Prosperity: America
By Hiroshige II, 1861
Art Institute of Chicago
After Shigenobu’s death in 1869 Otatsu (Hiroshige’s adopted daughter) married another of Hiroshige’s pupils, Shigemasu (1843-94), who became Hiroshige III. Hiroshige III also designed prints showing foreigners such as this triptych showing the foreign settlement in Yokohama:
View of the Seafront in Yokohama
By Hiroshige III, 1870
The MET, New York
One of Hiroshige III’s most common themes was the modernization of Edo, which was renamed Tokyo in 1868 when Emperor Meiji moved to the city from Kyoto. Here we see Takanawa (the place with the all night moon-viewing “26th Night” Festival).
View of Tokyo with a Picture of the Railroad at Takanawa
By Hiroshige III, c. 1875
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The pupils of Hiroshige did not achieve anything close to his success, but they worked during a time of great change in Japan, when traditional ukiyo-e was competing with photography and foreign types of prints such as lithographs. By the 20th century ukiyo-e was no longer popular. There were, and continue to be, woodblock print artists in Japan, but new styles had evolved. The most popular landscape artists of the 20th century are called shin hanga (new print) artists.
Influence in the West
In the 1760s and 70s art from Europe had had a profound effect on Japanese ukiyo-e artists. In the 1860s and 70s this trend was reversed when significant numbers of Japanese art works reached Europe and America.
The passion for Japanese art that developed among art connoisseurs and collectors began in Paris and spread from there. This fad is beautifully described in a fairly recent book, The Hare with Amber Eyes, by Edmund de Waal, Picador, 2010
From the time of the Renaissance most western art had aimed for a sense of almost photographic realism, achieved through chiaroscuro, creating contours and depth through contrasting light and dark colours and gradations of shading. In western landscapes and portraits areas of light and shadow were key. In contrast, ukiyo-e is very two-dimensional. Line and colour is key. It is rare in ukiyo-e to see an object casting a shadow and shading (bokashi) adds interest, but not necessarily depth. Hiroshige only places shadows in night scenes to indicate a bright, moon-lit night.
A movement called Japonism developed in Europe. Western artists were greatly influenced by Japanese use of line and colour as well as their compositions which were frequently asymmetrical and – as with many of Hiroshige’s One Hundred Views of Edo series -- placed cut-off portions of objects prominently in the foreground. The Impressionists in particular took great inspiration from ukiyo-e, which many collected, as did many other artists.
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) had a very large personal collection of ukiyo-e that is now owned by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and he wrote about how Japanese art influenced him, particularly the bright colours. Compare his self-portrait to a traditional Dutch portrait:
Portrait of a Man
By Frans Halls (c. 1585 – 1666)
Exhibited at the ROM, summer, 2019
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Self-Portrait
By Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
September 1889
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Van Gogh’s use of light and shadow is minimal. The features of his face and clothing are defined by lines. The predominant blue colour is reminiscent of Japan’s aizuri prints, though van Gogh uses a lighter shade than Prussian blue. And it is bright! The traditional dark background and somber clothing seen in many portraits is gone.
Van Gogh even copied Hiroshige’s work directly, perhaps as a study exercise.
Bridge in the Rain
By Vincent van Gogh, 1887
and
Sudden Shower over Shin Ohashi Bridge and Atake
By Hiroshige, 1857
Flowering Plum Orchard
By Vincent van Gogh, 1887
and
Plum Park in Kameido
By Hiroshige, 1857
Claude Monet (1840-1926), the French impressionist painter, also had a large ukiyo-e collection. His house and garden at Giverny, France, has been preserved and is open to tourists. With the exception of one large room, all of the walls in the house are decorated with ukiyo-e prints. This small section will give you some idea. The prints are distorted due to the use of a wide-angle lens. With the exception of the waterfall at top right by Hokusai, they are all by Hiroshige. Many other ukiyo-e artists’ work can also be seen throughout the house.
Inside Monet’s house at Giverny
The influence of Hiroshige and Hokusai can be seen in many of Monet’s compositions.
Haystacks at Giverny, by Monet
and
Clear Day with a Southern Breeze (Red Fuji), by Hokusai, 1831
The MET, New York
When Monet began portraying the same scene at different times of day, or in different weather, his contemporaries assumed he was inspired by ukiyo-e.
Grainstacks in the Sunlight, Morning Effect, by Monet, 1890
private collection (from Wikipedia)
and
Clear Day with a Southern Breeze (Red Fuji), by Hokusai, 1831
The MET, New York
Wheatstacks, by Monet, 1890-91
Art Institute of Chicago
and
Sudden Rain Beneath the Summit, by Hokusai, c.1831
Chazen Museum of Art, Wisconsin
Many other 18th century painters were greatly influenced by ukiyo-e. Poster artists in particular were inspired by Japanese, as were western print makers. At last year’s exhibit, Impressionism in the Age of Industry at the AGO, one could detect Japanese influences in many of the works on display. For example they showed some lithographs by Henri Riviere (1864-1951) from a series called Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower. He even put his initials into a Japanese-style seal rather than signing them.
The Tower under Construction, as seen from the Trocadero
Plate 3 from Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower
Colour lithograph on paper by Henri Riviere, 1902
Festivities on the Seine, July 14
Plate 12 from Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower
Colour lithograph on paper, by Henri Riviere, 1902
By 1900 the Japonism craze had subsided, but the influence of Japanese art in the west remains.
