Hiroshige. One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

Discover Utagawa Hiroshige’s final masterpiece : From lush green panoramas to decadent and pleasant neighborhoods, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is a journey through woodblock prints through 19th century Tokyo and a gem in the ukiyo-e tradition. . This reissue, bound in traditional Japanese style, reproduces one of the best complete original series from the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo.

The Edo of Hiroshige

Ukiyo-e masterpieces , Tokyo prints from the mid-19th century

Japanese prints or woodcuts , known as ukiyo-e , literally “paintings of the floating world”, were very popular in the western world and considered emblematic of the image of Japan throughout the world. XIX century. Because of the ease with which they could be reproduced, they were used as New Years greeting cards, in romantic postcard format, and also to illustrate books. The genre known as ukiyo-eit dates back to the seventeenth century; the original theme of this genre of painting was city life, activities and entertainment scenes. Beautiful courtesans, robust sumo wrestlers and popular actors often appear. Later landscape portraits became popular; His influence in the West was translated into the so-called Japonism and was widely reflected in Impressionist painting. This reprint that we present is made from an original belonging to the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo.

Hiroshige (1797-1858) is among the great masters of the ukiyo-e tradition .His talent was manifested above all in the views and landscapes of Tokyo (Edo) where he was from. His masterpiece was precisely the series known as One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-1858). This splendid work allows readers – in a reproduction at a scale of 120 – to enter the wonderful landscapes of Tokyo

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