Utagawa Hiroshige's 'Maple Trees at Mama' from 1857
Utagawa Hiroshige's woodcut print 'Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Tsugi Bridge' from his series 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo' (1857) is held at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The print measures 8.7 x 13.4 inches and exemplifies ukiyo-e, depicting a fleeting moment with seven figures in motion. Hiroshige used Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment from Germany, and employed a disruptive depth technique with Japanese maple trunks in the foreground. The work reflects the commercial factors of 19th-century Japan, including improved travel and domestic tourism. Multiple copies exist, but its artistic value remains undiminished.
Key facts
- Utagawa Hiroshige created 'Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Tsugi Bridge' in January 1857.
- The print is part of the series 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo'.
- It is a color woodcut print on paper measuring 8.7 x 13.4 inches (22 x 34 cm).
- The work is held at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Hiroshige lived during the Edo Period (1603–1867) under the Tokugawa shogunate.
- The print uses Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment introduced from Germany.
- It exemplifies ukiyo-e, focusing on transience and ephemerality.
- Multiple surviving copies exist due to mass production.
Entities
Artists
- Utagawa Hiroshige
- Katsushika Hokusai
Institutions
- Van Gogh Museum
- Tokugawa shogunate
Locations
- Edo
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Germany