Shower on Nihonbashi Bridge, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital

Utagawa Hiroshige

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Object Label

Given their quantity and availability, Japanese color woodblock prints played an especially important role in fostering Japonisme. This work exemplifies some of the formal characteristics that Western artists found so refreshingly different: compositions with strong diagonals or asymmetrical arrangements, dramatically foreshortened perspective, and an emphasis on flat, linear design. Hiroshige’s prints were also admired for their high technical quality. The multiple blocks (a separate block was used for each color) had to be carved with exactitude in order to print in alignment, and they were hand-inked to create subtle gradations of hue and tone.

Caption

Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, 1797–1858. Shower on Nihonbashi Bridge, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital, ca. 1832. Color woodblock print on paper, 10 5/16 x 15 1/4in. (26.2 x 38.7cm) Sheet: 10 5/16 x 15 5/16 in. (26.2 x 38.9 cm) Image: 9 1/16 x 13 3/4 in. (23 x 35 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Louis V. Ledoux, 41.471. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.471_IMLS_PS3.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Title

Shower on Nihonbashi Bridge, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital

Date

ca. 1832

Period

Edo Period

Geography

Place made: Japan

Medium

Color woodblock print on paper

Classification

Print

Dimensions

10 5/16 x 15 1/4in. (26.2 x 38.7cm) Sheet: 10 5/16 x 15 5/16 in. (26.2 x 38.9 cm) Image: 9 1/16 x 13 3/4 in. (23 x 35 cm)

Signatures

Hiroshige ga (広重画)

Markings

Publisher: Sanoya Kihei (Kikakudō) Censor's seal: kiwame

Credit Line

Gift of Louis V. Ledoux

Accession Number

41.471

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

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