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Utagawa Hiroshige, The Outskirts of Koshigaya in Musashi Province, from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, 1858

Fūkeiga (landscape prints)

It wasn’t until the 19th century that landscapes became an important genre in Japanese printmaking. Japanese people travelled more extensively in their own country, heightening their interest in their surroundings.

The exceptional series of prints by Hokusai (from 1829) and Hiroshige (from 1832) placed Japanese landscapes firmly on the map. With the new Prussian blue pigment, Japanese artists finally had an exquisite colour to use for the sea and sky.

Utagawa Hiroshige, Kameyama: Wind, Rain and Thunder, no. 47 from the series Collection of Illustrations of Famous Places near the Fifty-Three Stations [Along the Tōkaidō], 1855

Utagawa Hiroshige, Kameyama: Wind, Rain and Thunder, no. 47 from the series Collection of Illustrations of Famous Places near the Fifty-Three Stations [Along the Tōkaidō], 1855

The weather and the seasons

Hiroshige designed thousands of landscape prints, but each landscape was unique. He broke through the monotony of the landscape by depicting it in different seasons and types of weather, such as spring or autumn, and rain or snow.


Van Gogh and the Japanese landscape

Van Gogh admired the Japanese landscapes in his collection of prints. He was particularly fascinated by the dozens of landscape prints by Hiroshige.

He had a heavily romanticised image of Japanese artists, and fantasised about how they worked in isolation, at one with nature.

Utagawa Hiroshige, The Residence with Plum Trees at Kameido, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo, 1857

Utagawa Hiroshige, The Residence with Plum Trees at Kameido, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo, 1857

Vincent van Gogh, Flowering Plum Orchard (after Hiroshige), 1887

Vincent van Gogh, Flowering Plum Orchard (after Hiroshige), 1887

In Van Gogh’s letters, we read how he saw the French countryside with a ‘Japanese eye’. He selected Japanese motifs for his paintings and drawings, such as blossom, rain and gnarled trees.

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