Artwork of the Week: August 5, 2024
Ando Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), 'Susaki Jūmantsubo Plain Near Fukagawa,' from 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,' 1857, woodcut, 12 3/4 x 8 5/8 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, purchase/gift of the Mahonri M. Young Estate, 1959.
Born into a samurai family, Hiroshige originally worked as a fire warden before focusing solely on his artistic craft. Hiroshige’s final and most popular series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-1859) was actually composed of 118 woodblock prints and featured bustling scenes of city life and views of natural landmarks like Mount Fuji.
Susaki Jūmantsubo Plain Near Fukugawa combines the suspense of a bird of prey looking for its next kill with the serenity of a winter landscape. Hiroshige gained recognition for incorporating brush painting techniques with woodblock printing: in several examples of this work, the artist applied mica onto the bird and animal glue to the talons to give both a unique shimmer.
