Van Gogh's Japonisme: Bridge in the Rain after Hiroshige

Vincent van Gogh's Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) is a direct imitation of Utagawa Hiroshige's Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake from the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series, created in 1857. Although Van Gogh never set foot in Japan, he drew inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints during the Japonisme movement that emerged in Europe following the opening of Japanese ports in the mid-19th century. In 1887, he moved from Paris to Provence, where the scenery reminded him of those prints. He adopted Hiroshige's vivid colors and flatness but enhanced the brightness and minimized the figures. Both pieces utilize a haunting blue to reflect nature's unpredictability. Van Gogh's exploration of Hiroshige's color combinations was instrumental in expressing powerful emotions, a hallmark of Post-impressionism. This artwork resides in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.