Kintai Bridge at Iwakuni, Suo (Boshu) Province from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of the Various Provinces”
Medium
Color woodblock print
Dimensions
Paper: 34.8 × 22.9 cm (13 3/4 × 9 1/16 in.); Block: 33.3 × 22.1 cm (13 1/8 × 8 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
196747
Art Historical Context
Behold the graceful arches of the Kintai Bridge at Iwakuni in Suo (Bōshū) Province, captured in this stunning 1859 color woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige II (Shigenobu). Part of the series *One Hundred Famous Views of the Various Provinces*, it continues the legacy of his master, Utagawa Hiroshige I, whose poetic landscapes defined ukiyo-e art. Produced during Japan's late Edo period, amid growing fascination with the nation's natural wonders, this print celebrates the bridge's iconic five-arched wooden structure spanning the Nishiki River—a marvel of 17th-century engineering rebuilt multi...
About the Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige II (Shigenobu) · 1826–1869
Utagawa Hiroshige II, born Suzuki Chinpei in 1826, was one of the most accomplished ukiyo-e artists of mid-nineteenth century Japan. He entered the studio of the celebrated landscape master Utagawa Hiroshige I — known for his iconic series "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido" — and proved himself the most talented of the elder artist's few students. So highly regarded was the young pupil that...