Utagawa Hiroshige "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo"
“One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” is one of the last and most ambitious projects by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). The series was produced between 1856 and 1858 and became a bestseller. He chose as his last major undertaking a series featuring famous places of Edo, characterized by bold, original compositions. The series was also made famous around the world by Impressionist masters such as Monet and van Gogh, who closely studied and copied Hiroshige's compositions.
The series consists of four parts representing the four seasons and captures the changing scenery from various locations in Edo. At the same time, the series shows that Hiroshige had great vitality and explored new forms of expression even in his later years, employing techniques such as vertical prints, which were rare in landscapes, bird's-eye views, magnified and detailed foregrounds to emphasize perspective, and various printing techniques.