Hiroshige | Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine, 100 Famous Views of Edo
歌川広重 Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
名所江户百景 龟户天神境内
Inside Kameido Tenjin Shrine, from the series of 100 Famous Views of Edo
1856
木版画 | 纵绘大判 | 36.5cm x 25.2cm
Woodblock-print | Oban tate-e | 36.5cm x 25.2cm
非常早期的版本、版次；颜色鲜艳；轻微的中间折痕
Very early edition and impression with great color; slight centerfold
《名所江户百景》，是歌川广重于1856至1858年创作的竖版名所绘系列，为广重晚年乃至整个创作生涯中艺术水准最高的代表作之一。全系列包括目录在内共计119幅，以四季为主题，分为了春夏秋冬四部。本作分属于其中的夏之部。
龟户天神社，是位于今东京都江东区龟户的神社，亦称东宰府天满宫，始建于1661年。在其内供奉的乃是天满大神，即平安时代的著名学者、汉诗人、政治家菅原道真（845-903）。千年以来，他都一直被视作学问之神受人景仰，每当遇上重要的考试，院内就一定会挤满了求菅公庇护，献纳许愿牌的大量考生。
自江户时代起，神社就因紫藤而闻名遐迩，并会于每年的4月29日举办藤花祭。四月末，五月初，龟户天神社院内的紫藤一并盛开，将内外全部映染成紫色的云海。画面近景左侧，紫藤花架竖立，一束花序自然垂下；右侧半棵老松斜入，苍劲翠绿。两者像是半展开的帷幕，徐徐为观者展现出中景的太鼓桥。在这座有着奇异弧度，形似鼓缘的拱桥上，一个淘气的幼童正准备下桥。他身后心惊胆战的家长伸出双手，一边生怕孩子跌倒，一边又不敢动作过大，时刻注意着自己的脚步，生活气息十足。桥对岸，河畔上，数不清的紫藤花下，坐满了休憩赏景的百姓。由远及近，几只乳燕翻飞入景，穿花丛，掠池面，春日胜景，尽在眼前。
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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.