Hiroshige One Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Taschen
Utagawa Hiroshige 1797 1858 was one of the last great artists in the ukiyo e tradition Literally meaning pictures of the floating world ukiyo e was a particular genre of art that flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries and came to characterize the Western world s visual idea of Japan In many ways images of hedonism ukiyo e scenes often represented the bright lights and attractions of Edo modern day Tokyo beautiful women actors and wrestlers city life and spectacular landscapes Though he captured a variety of subjects Hiroshige was most famous for landscapes with a final masterpiece series known as One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 1856 1858 which depicted various scenes of the city through the seasons from bustling shopping streets to splendid cherry orchards This reprint bound in the traditional Japanese fashion is made from one of the finest complete original sets of woodblock prints belonging to the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo It pairs each of the 120 illustrations with a description allowing readers to immerse themselves in these beautiful vibrant vistas that became paradigms of Japonisme and inspired Impressionist Post Impressionist and Art Nouveau artists alike from Vincent van Gogh to James McNeill Whistler
