Ando Utagawa Hiroshige, 'Festival at Aki Province, Itsukushim'.
Woodblock print. Aki Province: Itsukushima, Depiction of a Festival
安芸 厳島 祭礼之図 (Aki, Itsukushima, Sairei no zu) from the series "Pictures of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces" 六十余州名所図会 (Rokujūyoshū meisho zue). Sheet size 34.3 x 23.6 cm.
Not framed. Tape to the upper margin.
A Swedish private collection, thence by descent.
Ando Hiroshige is one of the most renowned a Japanese painters born in Edo. He began his artistic career as an apprentice to Utagawa Toyohiro. After completing his training, Hiroshige took his teacher's name and started signing his works Utagawa Hiroshige. Hiroshige painted motifs from everyday life, and it is said that he decided to become an artist after seeing the works of the contemporary artist Hokusai. Hiroshige transformed ordinary landscapes into intimate, lyrical scenes. He is particularly known for his beautiful landscape images in the woodblock printing technique and has painted portraits of young women and actors. His masterpiece is considered to be the work “Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido.”
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