#hiroshige
Rough Sea at Naruto in Awa Province (no. 55 from the series Famous Views of the Sixty-odd Provinces), Hiroshige, 1855
Snow animation of ‘Night Snow at Kambara’ by Ando Hiroshige (ca. 1830).
World Environment Day
Today is World Environment Day!
Artists have been inspired by the beauty of the natural world for many centuries, and we have hundreds of artworks in our collections depicting landscapes all over the globe.
Here is one of our favourites by Japanese artist and printmaker Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858). Hiroshige often ‘broke’ the foreground of his prints by use of a dividing line, such as provided by a tree here, to frame the mountain in the background. Usually, this foreground detail is meant to attract the attention of the viewer, but not to be the subject of the print.
Wisteria Blossoms
It’s the time of year in Oxford when the wisteria are in full bloom, just like they are in this stunning ukiyo-e print by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858).
This scene is the view from inside Kameidō Tenjin Shrine, which was famous for its wisteria blossom in Spring. Beyond the hanging twists of purple flowers, people walk across the shrine’s steeply arched ‘drum bridge’, with others sit beneath wisteria trellises in the background. If you look closely, you can also see three small swallows diving over the lake.
Have you spotted any of these gorgeous purple blooms this Spring? We’d love to see your pictures - share them with us below.
Woodblock print with bokashi (tonal gradation), 1856–1858.
Hiroshige,Eagle Over Susaki, Fukagawa, 1857.