One Hundred Famous Views of Edo - In 1856, Hiroshige began designing what was to be his last great series and a masterpiece, "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo." The series contains 118 vertical format woodblocks of classic Hiroshige landscapes. From spring cherry blossoms to summer fireworks, from quiet scenes along the river to lively festival celebrations, Hiroshige captures life in old Edo in dramatic and interesting ways. Hiroshige employed an inventive compositional technique in many of the prints, using large foreground elements to frame a distant view in the background, such as the image of Kinryuzan Temple seen through the doorway of the famous Thunder Gate. Beautifully printed with fine bokashi shading, "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" retains its popularity today as one of Hiroshige's great masterworks, and includes some of his most memorable images.

Moon-Viewing Point, 1857 - Beautiful Hiroshige design and a personal favorite depicting an evening view of Edo Bay, as seen from an upper story of a teahouse in Shinagawa. A flock of geese flies past the full moon, and ships are anchored for the evening on the water below. Empty dishes and cups are scattered across the floor, along with an uneaten platter of sashimi, and two sake bottles can be seen at lower right. The shadow of a courtesan falls on the shoji panel at left, just the hem of her robe visible, while another beauty can just be seen at center right, her shamisen lying next to her. A lovely design with an interesting composition and fine detail in the architectural setting.

Artist - Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)

Image Size - 13 1/4" x 8 7/8"

Condition - This print with nice detail as shown. Paper remnants on reverse from previous backing. A couple small losses at edges, repaired. Wrinkling at corners, a couple spots and creases. Please see photos for details.