Three Ayu Fish, Utagawa Hiroshige

Artwork Overview

Utagawa Hiroshige, Three Ayu Fish
Utagawa Hiroshige, Three Ayu Fish
Utagawa Hiroshige
Three Ayu Fish
1830s, Edo period (1600–1868)
Utagawa Hiroshige
1797–1858
Three Ayu Fish, 1830s, Edo period (1600–1868)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 342 x 74 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 13 7/16 x 2 15/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 342 x 74 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 13 7/16 x 2 15/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 9 in
Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial
Accession number: 1928.7424
Not on display
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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
Asian Gallery, Summer 2003, Youmi Efurd
Kacho-e or Bird and Flower Prints
As wealthy merchants and educated samurai shaped a new elite culture in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, kacho-e, or the bird and flower prints, became increasingly popular. Yet, kacho-e were not as common as ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints) depicting other subjects.

Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) was one of the foremost wood-block print artists of his day, and through his genius, the kacho-e print genre achieved popularity previously unknown. Hiroshige’s kacho-e prints prospered because he and his publishers were able to meet the public demand for images that presented traditional styles and symbolism in a modern format. Hiroshige’s prints were enlivened by his special poetic sensibility, reflected also in his kacho-e prints. Hiroshige’s bird and flower prints are a rich combination of classical painting styles, literary references, symbolic meaning, poetic metaphor, calligraphy, and history.