Series; Pictures of Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations (Vertical Tokaido)
Pictures of Famous Places on the Fifty-three Stations (Vertical Tokaido) - Hiroshige's fantastic vertical Tokaido series was done in 1855 and represents a further evolution of his landscape design style, including some of his most modern designs. One of the striking features of this beautiful series was the vertical format, since the more common format for the landscape print was the horizontal. This unique approach allowed Hiroshige to experiment with the foreground and background contrasts that are typical of his work and seen in some of his other vertical landscape series. The concept for the vertical Tokaido grew out of the incredible popularity of the Hoeido Tokaido (his first Tokaido series). Hiroshige wanted to expand on the theme, as the public was very interested in his fascinating images of life and travels along the most important thoroughfare in Japan- the road from Edo to Kyoto. From the urban center of Edo, where the journey began, to the beautiful rural landscape of the provinces more far away, the series is a set of breathtaking illustrations of Edo period Japan.
The Suzuka River and Foothills at Tsuchiyama, 1855 - Interesting view of travelers making their way along the shore of the Suzuka River in the foothills of Mt. Tsuchiyama. The river sweeps away in a curve at right, studded with many rocks, the far shore thickly forested with pines. A small shrine with a red torii gate is nestled among the tall trunks. The mountain rises in the distance above low lying-purple clouds. A handsome composition.
Artist - Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)
Image Size - 13 1/2" x 8 3/4" + margins as shown
Condition - This print with good detail as shown. Backed with paper. Wormhole in margin, repaired. Curling, a few small spots and creases. Please see photos for details.
