Utagawa Hiroshige II, Antique Japanese woodblock print, Famous Places of Edo: Oji Waterfall River, Ukiyo-e, #710, Woodcut

Authentic artwork
Utagawa Hiroshige II, 1826 – 1869

Age: Antique
Original woodblock print
Famous Places of Edo: Oji Waterfall River

Hiroshige II was a Japanese designer of ukiyo-e art. He inherited the name Hiroshige II following the death in 1858 of his master Hiroshige, whose daughter he married. In 1865 he moved from Edo to Yokohama after dissolving his marriage and began using the name Kisai Risshō.

His works are often confused with those of Hiroshige I, as they are very similar in style, subject, and even caption, especially in such series as One Hundred Famous Views of Various Provinces (1859-61), which repeat his master's Famous Views of Sixty-odd Provinces (1853-56). The "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" (1856-58), also largely executed by Hiroshige I, was completed by Hiroshige II after the former's death. Although the signature on this series of prints remained the same, the later designs stylistically resemble Hiroshige II's work. Other famous series by the artist include Eight Views of the Sumida River (1861) and Thirty-six Views of the Eastern Capital (1861-62).

The Utagawa school (歌川派) was one of the main schools of ukiyo-e, founded by Utagawa Toyoharu. It was the largest ukiyo-e school of its period. The main styles were bijin-ga (beautiful women) and ukiyo-e. His pupil, Toyokuni I, took over after Toyoharu's death and led the group to become the most famous and powerful woodblock print school for the remainder of the 19th century.

Hiroshige, Kunisada, Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi were Utagawa students. The school became so successful and well known that today more than half of all surviving ukiyo-e prints are from it.

During his time in Paris, Vincent van Gogh was an avid collector of ukiyo-e, amassing with his brother a collection of several hundred prints purchased in the gallery of S. Bing. This collection provided works from The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido, and Van Gogh incorporated stylistic elements from his collection into his own work, such as bright colors, natural details, and unconventional perspectives. In h is personal correspondence, he stated, "all of my work is founded on Japanese art", and described the Impressionists as "the Japanese of France".

The Japanese term Ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as picture of the floating world.


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