Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige, born Andō Tokutarō (1797 – 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.The subjects of his work were atypical of the ukiyo-e genre, whose typical focus was on beautiful women, popular actors, and other scenes of the urban pleasure districts of Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868).Hiroshige is often regarded as the last great artist of the Ukiyo-e movement.Ukiyo-e translates to “images of the floating world,” and artists of the movement made woodblock prints and paintings that depicted scenes of history, nature, and famous faces of Edo.However, rather than create prints depicting typical Ukiyo-e motifs, Hiroshige developed his own style.He looked to the everyday experience for inspiration, rendering images of working men and women in urban environments. He created his images with such skill that day-to-day scenes were transformed into captivating landscapes with vibrant colors and charming details.More of Utagawa Hiroshige’s artwork can be found at https://artincontext.org/utagawa-hiroshige//.