Artwork
東海道五十三次 見附 天竜川渡舟|Mitsuke
東海道五十三次 見附 天竜川渡舟|Mitsuke is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Utagawa Hiroshige. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Mitsuke is a woodblock print from Utagawa Hiroshige's series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, created around 1840. It captures a serene riverside scene at Mitsuke, depicting travelers crossing the Tenryū River by ferry.
Subject & Meaning
The print focuses on a moment of everyday travel along the Tōkaidō road, highlighting the intersection of human activity and natural landscape. It diverges from the typical ukiyo-e emphasis on urban life, instead emphasizing rural tranquility.
Technique & Style
Hiroshige employed simple shapes and a vibrant color palette to convey the scene's calmness. The composition features contrasting shorelines—a dark pine-lined left bank and a sandy right bank—set against a pale blue sky with softly rendered distant hills.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1840 by Utagawa Hiroshige, a prominent late Edo period ukiyo-e artist, as part of his renowned Tōkaidō series. Specific provenance details are not provided.
Context
Part of a larger series documenting stations along the Tōkaidō road, Mitsuke reflects Hiroshige's contribution to ukiyo-e's shift towards landscape depiction, influenced by his own travels and the period's cultural fascination with the road's stories.
Legacy
As part of The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, Mitsuke contributes to Hiroshige's enduring influence on Japanese art and his role in popularizing landscapes in ukiyo-e, with the series remaining a celebrated example of the genre.
Artist & collection
Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重) or Andō Hiroshige (安藤 広重), born Andō Tokutarō (安藤 徳太郎; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
