1834
ink
paper
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sumidagawa no yuki|Sumida River in the Snow, from the series "Famous Places in Edo in the Four Seasons" is a 1834 ink by Utagawa Hiroshige, a Romanticism work, depicting River, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This print shows a snowy riverbank at night. A lone figure in a wide-brimmed hat and long coat walks along a narrow path, leaning on a staff. Tall bamboo shoots stand in the foreground, their dark trunks stark against the white snow. The river is dotted with tiny white specks, and a bare tree with twisted branches looms in the background. The scene feels quiet and cold, with only the person’s shadow and the bamboo breaking the stillness. The artist used fine lines to suggest texture, like the snow’s weight on the branches. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists build shadows with lines.
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.
See the richer artist page
