Hiroshige: artist of the open road książka papierowa

Hiroshige: artist of the open road is the accompanying book to the British Museum exhibition of the same title, exploring the artist’s key works from his many celebrated landscape series.

Over a career spanning four decades, the prolific Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) produced thousands of landscape and nature prints, hundreds of paintings commissioned by the samurai elite, as well as dozens of illustrated books. His work appealed to every stratum of society. While some of his landscape prints, such as Kanbara – Evening Snow and Sudden Shower over Ōhashi and Atake, are well-known examples of Japanese art, the full range of his output is less familiar.

Hiroshige came from a samurai family, but he crossed social boundaries and devoted himself to depicting popular customs and the world around him. His work is distinguished by an air of gentle grace and decorum, perhaps arising from his steady temperament. His calm artistic vision sustained his contemporaries through the uncertainties of daily life and changing times. A great colourist, he stands out for discovering a subtle lyricism in the experience of travel, and a bond between people and the natural world.

Featuring highlights from leading private collections, alongside works by Hiroshige and other artists from the British Museum’s outstanding collection of Japanese art and from other major collections, this lavishly illustrated new publication celebrates one of the world’s most accomplished artists.