HIROSHIGE BLUE

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) was a master of landscape paintings. His works are still popular today, especially the beautiful deep blues of the sky and sea. Those were painted with a blue ink called “Bero-ai (prussian blue)” which was used for ukiyo-e since around 1830. Many artists were inspired by Bero-ai’s beauty and used it to draw landscapes. Hiroshige, in his mid-30s at the time, was one such artist. Once Hiroshige discovered landscape paintings through his encounter with Bero-ai, he gained popularity by delicately drawing the ever-changing sky and water surface. Since then, he continued to produce poetic masterpieces until he passed away, establishing his position in the ukiyo-e world. The exhibition will mainly present Hiroshige’s masterpieces using Bero-ai to bring out the charm of “Hiroshige Blue,” which received worldwide acclaim.

Highlight of Exhibition 1 New era through Bero-ai – masterpieces of landscape paintings

We will introduce some of the famous works colored in beautiful blue from Hiroshige’s first seller of landscape pictures “Famous Places in Edo,” to “Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road” which made him a star, to the masterpiece of his later years “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.”

Highlight of Exhibition 2 　The blue era of the ukiyo-e world

Bero-ai reproduces vivid blue, which fascinated many ukiyo-e artists, such as Katsushika Hokusai, Keisai Eisen, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi. The exhibition will also present some works produced in the background of the Bero-ai trend including Hokusai’s landscape painting masterpiece “Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji.”

Highlight of Exhibition 3 Works before the appearance of Bero-ai

Admission

Adult	1000円
University and High school students	700円
Junior High School Students and below (under 15 years old)	FREE

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