On View
Not on viewObject number1975/6.35
Koume Embankment, #104 in the series One Hundred Views of Edo
Artist
Andō Hiroshige
(Japanese, 1797-1858)
Date1857
Mediumwoodblock print
Dimensionsimage: 13 1/4 × 8 13/16 in. (33.7 × 22.4 cm)
Credit LineDirector's Fund
Exhibition History"Views and Vistas," KIA Long Gallery (Sept. - Nov. 2007).
"Impressions: Printmaking in Japan," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Joy Light Gallery of Asian Art (Apr. 1 - July 23, 2017).
"Through the Years" KIA Galleries 2 & 5 (January 29 - April 30, 2021).Label TextThis scene shows a quiet, winter day along a canal embankment that begins in Koume village. By tall trees in the foreground, children play with puppies while two bundled women cross the bridge. The gentle bend of the canal arcs diagonally across the page, drawing the eye gradually into the distant background. Hiroshige, along with Hokusai, was a great master of 19th-century Japanese printmaking, known primarily for poetic landscapes. In addition to views of Edo and Mt. Fuji, he created series depicting “stations” along the famous Tokaido Road and other celebrated locations. The prolific artist designed thousands of images. Japanese viewers were intrigued by the more realistic, Western-style perspective Hiroshige had studied in earlier Dutch prints. Shortly after the artist’s death, the prints found new admirers in Europe, especially among artists. Van Gogh painted copies of Hiroshige prints. Whistler emulated Hiroshige’s reduction of color, graceful lines, and prominent foreground objects.
