Hiroshige | Fishing for Ayu under an Autumn Moon on the Tama River, Snow, Moon, and Flowers at Famous Places
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
名所雪月花 多满川秋之月猎鲇鱼之图
Fishing for Ayu under an Autumn Moon on the Tama River, from the series Snow, Moon, and Flowers at Famous Places
1844-48
木版画 | 横绘大判 | 23.5cm x 36cm
Woodblock-print | Oban Yoko-e | 23.5cm x 36cm
早期版次；颜色鲜艳；边缘有些许脏痕；角落经修复
Early impression; good color; some dirt on margins; expertly restored on the corners
雪月花，出典自白居易《寄殷协律（多叙江南旧游）》一诗，为日本传统惯用语。原意指雪、月、花三种景物，后多用于文学及艺术创作，代指一切自然界值得欣赏的美丽事物。
多满川，即今多摩川，是一条起源于山梨县甲州市山地，最终注入东京湾的一级河川。每当初夏时节，成群的香鱼便会从东京湾逆流而上，洄游进水量充沛、苔藻茂盛的多摩川。周边的人们也自然不会放过这个机会，纷纷运用各种手段捕获这些难得的时令美味。
皓月当空，杨柳新发，微薄的红霞即将消逝在山外。多摩川中，大家伙各显神通，有的聚坐垂钓，有的撒出渔网，还有的直接拎起竹篾罩，卷起裤管下水摸抄起来。忽听得一串银铃般的笑声，原来是前景那个光屁股小孩捉住了一条大个头香鱼。“小子，还真不赖啊！”一旁扛起鱼竿准备打道回府的老钓手不住地感叹道，脸上的惊讶对比着孩子的大笑颇具喜剧效果，令人忍俊不禁。只是不知回家后，他会不会把这事儿说给家人听呢？
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Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Ando Hiroshige (1897-1858) revolutionized the art of landscape prints during the Edo era, building on the success of his senior, Hokusai, but taking a more poetic and naturalist approach to portraying the beauty of Japan.
The son of a low-level Samurai assigned to the fire brigade in Edo, Hiroshige became a student of the Utagawa school as a young man. His first prints focused on beautiful women (bijin), and views of Edo. But in 1833 he began work on his most famous early work, his first series depicting the Tokaido, the "Great Sea Road" between Edo and Tokyo.
Today there is some controversy about this series. Initially, it was believed that Hiroshige had travelled the route along with a local lord (Daimyo) who was making a gift of horses to the Emperor. But more recent scholarship suggests Hiroshige never travelled the road himself, at least not the entire way, and made his designs using published guidebooks.
Nonetheless, the prints were wonderful and revolutionary. They embraced the seasons with a gentle lyricism missing from Hokusai's striking but stylized depictions. In Hiroshige's work, nature is sacred -- but it is always mixed with humanity, with travelers or little inns or bridges. There is a magical harmony between man and the elements.
His depiction of the seasons and weather is especially evocative. Snow blankets some views with a hushed silence, while rain streaks down furiously in others. In some prints natured is agitated; in others, calm prevails. Produced in a horizontal oban yoko-e format, the series was a smash hit.
The Tokaido series made Hiroshige famous, and he became incredible prolific. In the 1840s he produced many strong designs, but many mediocre ones, too, including several subsequent Tokaido series of varying quality.
In 1853, however, he made a big step. He turned his landscapes sideways, embracing a bold vertical oban tate-e format. This gave his designs new energy and a modern feel. The first of these was Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces. From them on, most of his most noted series were executed in this format.
He saved his greatest for his last. In 1856 he began work on 100 Famous Views of Edo, which many consider his most exceptional work. Here his home city was portrayed with energy and passion, and in these 119 designs he created an incredible record of a vanished place. In addition to the striking vertical format, he developed exciting new compositions, often juxtaposing a strong foreground element with a distant background.
Among the many famous images in this series are Squall at Ohashi and the Plum Garden in Komeido. Both of these were copied by Vincent Van Gogh, a great admirer of Hiroshige. Thus, the great Japanese artist had a profound effect on Western art.
Alas, his beloved Edo ended his life. Hiroshige was claimed by a cholera epidemic that swept the city in 1958. His pupil Shigenobu, who took the name Hiroshige II, completed The Famous Views of Edo.