Hiroshige, 100 Views of Edo: Woodblock Prints by Ando Hiroshige

by Hiroshige Utagawa, Mikhail Uspensky

The hundred views of Edo is one of the most famous artistic productions of all times. The arts of Ukiyo-e were the expression of a singular and isolated civilisation. It had considerable influence on European art, and both Monet and Van Gogh drew much inspiration from it.The sets of prints emanating from Edo, many of them take as subjects views on the Tokaido road, rendered him famous and early European visitors began buying and bringing them back to Europe, setting off a trend for Japanese art.

The compositions in this series of prints never repeat themselves and are of astonishing diversity. The contrast of planes, the richness of motifs and the splendour of the colours, reveal the extraordinary talent of Hiroshige.

Genres: Art, Japan, Nonfiction

262 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1997

About the author

born 1798

Japanese artist Ando Hiroshige captured the serenity of landscape of his country with his superbly composed color woodblock prints, including Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido (1832).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshige

Reviews

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder if I am the only person who has actually read Hiroshige: One Hundred Views of Edo. This is full of stunning visuals-this is one instance in which I can forgive someone for just "looking at the pretty pictures." Certainly I enjoyed that aspect myself-but each print is accompanied by a page of text regarding the image in question. These were informative yet riddled with grammatical errors. Originally I was going to read this book at the rate of a page a day but my native impatience took over, so I've finished well ahead of schedule. This actually featured 118 "views" (anyone who knows me knows the first words out of my mouth: "Bonus prints!") Do not look for true to life depictions here-Hiroshige was happy to add height to a cliff or a bend to a river his goal was to capture the essence of a place.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of woodblock prints. The colors, especially the blues, are eye catching. I liked the winter prints the best with the autumn prints a close second. And no Roger, you were not the only reviewer who read the descriptive text page that accompanied each print.

[T P Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most enjoyable overview of a remarkable print series. I enjoyed the essays and accompanying text. The full page reproduction of the prints ensured that justice was done to the originals.

[Eddie Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of great and detailed historical context with every image. Loved this included all the images in detail as well.