Utagawa Hiroshige

THE PERSON AND THEIR WORLD

Life and career

Hiroshige worked in Edo’s commercial publishing world, making famous places, travel and weather central to his prints. His Tōkaidō series established his reputation in the 1830s. Later series revisited Edo and Mount Fuji through increasingly adventurous framing; publishers, carvers and printers helped realise these designs.

Works across a career

Selected examples, not a complete catalogue. Read date ranges and attributions before inferring a career sequence.

01
late 1830s or early 1840s
late 1830s or early 1840s
Picture of Light Rain on the Embankment of the Sumida River, from the series A New Selection of Famous Places in Edo
Material / technique
color woodblock print
Attribution / role
Museum attribution
Collection / source
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Bequest of James Parmelee · Image: public domain (CC0)
Open source record ↗
02
c. 1831
c. 1831
Full Moon over Takanawa, from the series Famous Places in the Eastern Capital
Material / technique
color woodblock print
Attribution / role
Museum attribution
Collection / source
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore · Image: public domain (CC0)
Open source record ↗
03
1858
1858
Pine Groves of Miho in Suruga, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Material / technique
Color woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Attribution / role
Museum attribution
Collection / source
The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith · Image: public domain (CC0)
Open source record ↗

LOOK ACROSS THE WORKS

Compare materials, style and colour

The moonlit view, rainy embankment and late Fuji scene use the same printing family but organise atmosphere differently. Compare dark silhouettes, thin rain lines and the spacing of distant forms. Colour belongs to a particular impression: fading and printing variations can alter the palette you see today.

Material

What can this material do? Distinguish a design, an original object and a later impression or cast.

Style

Compare viewpoint, edges, composition and marks. Which choices persist, and which change?

Colour

Compare palette, contrast and light. Consider the support, printing, surface treatment and ageing.

Sources and further reading

Original educational interpretation; catalogue descriptions are separately credited. Each study links to its source. Reference entries without images are not added to the comparison timeline.