Artist: Hiroshige
Date: 1855
Medium: Woodblock Print
Material: Ink on Paper
Size: 14.25 x 9.75 in.
Repository: Connecticut College Black Collection
Description: Villagers walk along a path carrying straw to makeshift straw hats at the front of Mt. Hiramatsu. A deep teal across the foreground and high in the mountains provide a sense of coolness as a glow of pink rises up just near the peak of the mountains. It is morning time! The pink blossoms of the trees are nearly shrouded by a dense white streak at the center of the composition—likely fog. The villagers point and look up at the beauty of this. A stream serenely travels down toward the left hand side. There is a repetition of colors; yellows in the huts and objects wielded by villagers, as well as a strikingly deep blue at the mouth of the stream and at the uppermost section of sky.
Analysis: I’ve noticed that in a lot of Japanese woodblock prints there is a repetition of colors, but there is something especially poetic about this one. The longer I look at it, the more I get a sense of connectivity through the colors, even though there are so few. This selection of colors also masterfully serves to convey a sense of time and temperature, both valuable aspects in Japanese art.
References: Connecticut College Japanese Prints Collections Inventory
