The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 5, 2023

Driving Rain at Shono (Station 46) from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido

1833

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重

(Japanese, 1797–1858)

Japan, Edo period

(1615-1868)

Color woodblock print

Sheet: 38 x 25.4 cm (14 15/16 x 10 in.)

Gift of Mrs. T. Wingate Todd from the Collection of Dr. T. Wingate Todd 1948.306

Location

not on view

Description

In this print, Hiroshige mastered capturing the atmospheric qualities of rain and its effects on travelers wearing straw raincoats. The publisher’s name, Takenouchi, is written on the umbrella. His large red seal is stamped on the left side of the print.

Hiroshige often depicted rainfall with distinct slanted lines. Here, he also added sheets of gray shading to emphasize the intensity of the downpour. In addition, three different shades of gray, requiring three different stages of the printing process, suggest distance in the thickets of bamboo in the background.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signature: Hiroshige ga Publisher: Takenouchi Magohachi (Hoeido han) Seal: kiwame

Exhibition history

Cleveland Museum of Art Education Department, 1980: Japanese Woodblock Prints: Themes and Techniques.

Cleveland Museum of Art Prints and Drawings Department, 1981: Promenades, Pageants, Processions, and Pilgrimages.

Cleveland Museum of Art Prints and Drawings Department, 1988: The View from Afar: Whistler and the Japanese Print.

Later Japanese Art Gallery Rotation (Gallery 113); February 20 - May 6, 2003.

Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; December 12, 2004- April 10, 2005. "Visions of Japan: Prints and Paintings from Cleveland Collections".

Promenades, Pageants, Processions, and Pilgrimages. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 25, 1981-January 3, 1982).

Transformations in Japanese Printmaking. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 30, 1984).

The View from Afar: Whistler and the Japanese Print. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 9-October 16, 1988).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.306