Hiroshige 広重: Snow Scene of Atagoshita and Yabu Lane 愛宕下藪小路

Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige 広重 (1797-1858)
Title: Atagoshita and Yabu Lane  愛宕下藪小路 
Series: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 名所江戸百景 Meisho Edo Hyakkei
Date: 12/1857

Atagoshita and Yabu Lane, from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”. Perhaps the most lively and celebrated snow scene in this iconic series, the deep blue water of the canal and the colorful dress of the pedestrians provides cheerful contrast to the blanketing white snow. Sparrows frolic next to snow-laden bamboo branches that bend down in the foreground, filling much of the sky space. The curves of the bamboo branches contrast nicely with the strong perspective and straight lines of the daimyo mansion at left, as well as with the overall diagonal compositional elements that are Hiroshige’s hallmark. The bokashi in the channel at right contrasts so beautifully with the white snow at left, and the eye is led along a diagonal curve that begins lower right and travels clockwise until being led to the bright red gate in the distance that leads up to Atago Shrine.  Compares favorably to the British Museum example.

Condition: Very good impression, color and condition. Large margins.
Dimensions: ôban
Publisher: Uoya Eikichi
Literature: Henry Smith II: “Hiroshige’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”, plate 112. See Brooklyn Museum, RISD Museum, MFA Boston, Honolulu Academy of Art, British Museum.
Signature: Hiroshige ga

SKU: HIR532