HIROSHIGE (1797 - 1858): In the canon of ukiyo-e there is one name above all others that evokes the tender, lyrical beauty of the Japanese landscape – Hiroshige. Born in Edo as Ando Tokutaro, he grew up in a minor samurai family that belonged to the Edo's firefighting force. It is here that Hiroshige was given his first exposure to art: legend has it that a fellow fireman tutored him in the popular Kano school of painting. In 1811 at the age of fifteen, the young artist entered an apprenticeship with the celebrated Utagawa Toyohiro and was bestowed with the artist name, Hiroshige after only a year. Despite this, his artistic genius went largely unnoticed with the public until the publication of his "The 53 Stations of the Tokaido," a landmark series documenting the journey from Edo to Kyoto. With the Tokugawa Shogunate relaxing centuries of age-old restrictions on travel, urban populations embraced travel art and Hiroshige arguably became one of the most prominent and successful artist of the ukiyo-e school.
Hiroshige’s work had a profound influence on the Impressionists of Europe: Toulouse Lautrec was fascinated with his daring diagonal compositions and inventive use of perspective, Van Gogh himself literally copied two prints from "100 Famous Views of Edo" in painting. In 1858 at the age of sixty-two, Hiroshige passed away as a result of the Edo cholera epidemic but his work continues to convey the beauty of Japan and provide insight into the everyday life of its citizens.
