Booklist
A look at the history of ukiyo-e, those "pictures of the floating world" that are arguably among the most popular Asian artworks in the West, inevitably leads one to discover the cross-cultural artistic traditions that have shaped or been shaped by this quintessential Japanese art form. For example, beginning in the late eighteenth century, Japanese artists studied European works and experimented with perspective and chiaroscuro, as well as brushes of realism and local color, in their own wood-block prints. In turn, this "Western-influenced" style of Japanese landscape eventually set off a japonisme craze, which inspired many nineteenth-century artists on the Continent. Van Gogh, for one, acknowledged inspiration from Hiroshige's Sudden Shower on the Ohashi Bridge and Atakepart of the celebrated One Hundred Views of Edo series. Unlike previous publications of the Edo series, this book is not an exhibition catalog. Uspensky, the late curator of Japanese arts at the Hermitage Museum, has taken care to reproduce all 118 prints, with extensive commentaries on each. It would have been helpful to have included the more well-known illustrations, such as Hokusai's Mount Fuji Seen Below a Wave at Kanagawa alongside the introduction, but overall, Uspensky's text succinctly describes the rich history of this fascinating art. Veronica Scrol
Book Description
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 civilization. It had considerable influence n 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 splendor of the colors,reveal the extraordinary talent of Hiroshige.
