Bidspirit auction | Hiroshige I Utagawa, Tsuchiyama, Stations

Hiroshige I Utagawa, Tsuchiyama, Stations of Tokaido - Artist: Hiroshige I Utagawa (1797-1858) Title: Tsuchiyama Series title: The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Publisher: Hoeido Date: 1833-1834 Size: 24.6 x 36.3 cm Condition: Vertical centrefold, some wormholes, minor creases. In 1832, it is said that Hiroshige was appointed by Bakufu, the feudal government of Japan, to accompany an official procession from Edo to Kyoto along the Tokaido road. The artist made many sketches during this journey, resulting in the production of his most acclaimed series 'Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road', although some of the designs are based on older available images. To be noted that it was rare for an artist (and regular people in general) to be able to travel and sketch landscapes from life during the Edo period, which makes some scholars believe that Hiroshige depicted most scenes entirely from his imagination. The Hoeido edition of the Tokaido is Hiroshige's best known work. Coming just after Hokusai's 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji' series, it established this new major theme of ukiyo-e, the landscape print, or fukei-ga, with a special focus on famous views. Ref: JG0525U14-40