Plum Estate at Kameido (Kameido umeyashiki)
Artist
Utagawa Hiroshige I 歌川 広重
(Japanese, 1797–1858)
Publisherpublished by
Uoya Eikichi
Date1857, 11th month
Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper
DimensionsVertical ōban: 33.6 x 22.2 cm (13 1/4 x 8 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection
Object number1901.59.1244
DescriptionNo. 30Label TextThis print depicts a widely admired tree called the “Sleeping Dragon Plum,” once located in Edo (present day Tokyo)’s Umeyashiki garden near the Sumida River. Its boughs reportedly stretched almost 50 feet, and its blossoms were said to be unusually large and white. As with the print on the left, Hiroshige employed a single-point perspective to place exaggerated focus on the object in the foreground. This is intended to draw the eye to the scene beyond, where more Japanese plum trees bloom against a bright pink sky. Not only did this print appeal to Bancroft, but also other artists, including Vincent Van Gogh, who famously copied it in oil paints.
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