Notebook A Hundred Famous Views of Edo
Notebook A Hundred Famous Views of Edo
| Author | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Reliefs Editions |
| ISBN | 9782380361667 |
| Idea Code | 250197 |
One Hundred Views of Edo, the final masterpiece by Hiroshige (1797–1858), was created during the last two years of his life and comprises 119 prints dedicated to his hometown of Edo, which became Tōkyō in 1868. It belongs to the meisho-e ('pictures of famous places') genre, which celebrates Japanese landscapes, and reflects the maturity of Hiroshige’s art, where abstraction and composition play an increasingly significant role. Aiming to 'paint landscapes that the viewer can see with their own eyes' (Illustrated Memories of Edo), Hiroshige adopts a vertical format and crafts images where topographical accuracy gives way to unusual framing, dramatic close-ups, and vivid colours. To achieve this, he employs the nishiki-e technique, or 'brocade print,' which requires multiple carved wooden blocks and allows for the use of a wide range of colours and intricate details. These large-format prints (ōban), arranged according to the seasons of the year, adopt the perspective of a human observer contemplating the landscape, allowing emotion to subtly emerge.
| 64 p, ills colour, 15 x 21 cm, pb, French/English |
Reliefs Editions
