Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi bridge and Atake (reprint)
by Hiroshige (1797–1858)
Sold
- Type
- Woodblock print (reprint)
- First edition
- 1857
- This impression
- This print is not from the original woodblocks (that no longer exist), but a reprint from blocks carved by publisher Unsodo.
- Image size
- 21.5 × 33.5 cm
Description
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.
