Japanese Woodblock Prints 2021 Wall Calendar

Utagawa Hiroshige was born in 1797 in Edo, now Tokyo. He was one of the last great ukiyo-e masters of the colour woodblock print. His genius for landscape compositions was first recognised in the West by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Possessing the ability to reduce the pictured scene to a few simple, highly decorative elements, Hiroshige captured the very essence of what he saw and turned it into a highly effective composition. There was in his work a human touch that no artist of the school had heretofore achieved; his pictures revealed a beauty that seemed somehow tangible and intimate. Snow, rain, mist, and moonlight scenes compose some of his most poetic masterpieces.