Night Rain at Makura Bridge (Makurabashi yau), from the series "Eight Views of the Sumida River (Sumidagawa hakkei)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
26678
Art Historical Context
In the dim glow of lanterns piercing a curtain of night rain, Utagawa Hirosh II (Shigenobu) captures the poetic melancholy of urban life in *Night Rain at Makura BridgeMakurabashi yau)*, from his 1861 series *Eight Views of Sumida River (Sumidagawa hakkei. As the adopted son and prized pupil of the legendary Hiroshige I, Shigenobu carried forward the ukiyo-e of woodblock prints, blending everyday scenes with lyrical beauty. This oban-sized color woodblock print, held in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia collection, evokes the bustling yet introspective world of late Edo-period Tokyo ...
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...