1857
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Eight Views of Kanazawa at Night is a 1857 by Utagawa Hiroshige, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a long, narrow print of Kanazawa at night, lit by a pale autumn moon. Tiny boats dot the dark water, and a double-arched bridge glows at the bottom right. Hiroshige made this late in life, part of a series called “snow, moon, and flowers.” People in the 1850s would have known the coastline and the bridge—it was a real place, not just a pretty scene. Look up more prints in the subject: japan, edo period (1615–1868).
Late in his career, Hiroshige explored the poetic theme of setsugekka , “snow, moon, and flowers,” in a set of three triptychs. This panoramic scene shows the autumn moon over Kanazawa, near Tokyo. Hiroshige’s contemporaries would have recognized the coastline dotted with villages, fishing boats, and the distinctive double-arched bridge at the bottom right.
The red cartouche on the right gives the title of the print, while the artist’s signature and red seal are on the far left.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重) or Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重), born Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
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