Hiroshige – Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi bridge and Atake (Utagawa Hiroshige – Ohashi Atake no Yudachi)

Woodblock print (reprint). The first edition of this design was published in 1857. The current print was printed in the Showa period (1926 – 1989).

Utagawa Hiroshige’s “Sudden Shower” print is one of the most famous woodblock prints, alongside “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Katsushika Hokusai. It depicts a dynamic scene with heavy rain, where people brave the rain to cross the bridge, and a boatsman down below proceeds further on the river. The print is technically advanced, using bokashi in many places, for example, in the dark, menacing clouds. The rain consists of many thin lines, resulting in a superb depiction of a heavy downpour. It influenced not only many Japanese woodblock printmakers but also Western art through Van Gogh, Monet and many other Impressionists.

Image size (excluding margins): 35.3 * 22.4 cm (13.9 * 8.8 in).

The print is in good state, but with signs of aging.

The pictures shown here are from the print itself.

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Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858) was one of the most famous Japanese woodblock print artists, considered the last great ukiyo-e master. He has had a lasting impact on both Japanese print artists as well as on Western painters such as Van Gogh and Monet and his prints are still widely admired to this day.

An overview of the woodblock prints by Hiroshige can be found here.

See an overview of Hiroshige's woodblock prints