['Hakone station, second (design) - servant Fudesuke', 'Fifty-three station of the Tokaido'] 1852 - 1859

Curator: This woodblock print, "Hakone station, second (design) - servant Fudesuke" by Utagawa Kunisada, is part of the series 'Fifty-three stations of the Tokaido'. Dating back to 1852-1859, it offers a window into 19th-century Japanese culture. Editor: It feels dramatic! The figure looms large, doesn't it? A face pulled into this exaggerated grimace, all set against what I suppose is Hakone's famous landscape? Very arresting. Curator: The print highlights several production processes: from initial sketches to the carving of the woodblocks and finally, the printing process itself, we see the meticulous labour involved in producing Ukiyo-e prints for mass consumption. The focus here isn’t necessarily the beauty of nature, but the representation and staging of character, tied to popular entertainment. Editor: Staging is the word. The intense makeup, the carefully positioned props…it’s like a scene plucked straight from the theatre. Do you think the average consumer considered the process, or did they just buy them and tack them up? Curator: Both probably! These prints, precisely because they were mass produced, circulated ideas about beauty, celebrity, and travel very widely. Consider the quality of line, the application of colours and gradients achieved through meticulous layering – they were consumer objects, yet simultaneously carriers of sophisticated aesthetic knowledge. Editor: It strikes me how modern this feels in a way. Like early advertisement or propaganda posters? What did it mean to people at the time? Is it about performance? Transformation? Selling dreams, perhaps? It almost feels tongue-in-cheek in its intensity. Curator: I'd say it offers a multifaceted engagement for the viewer: a record of place, a celebration of theatre, and the skillful craftsmanship involved in its production all folded into one affordable art object. Editor: Affordability influencing aesthetics! Interesting! For me it’s like a brief moment of hyper-stylized emotion preserved. Gives me the shivers, if I’m honest. I think I feel sadness too. Curator: Perhaps something we've both gleaned today. Editor: Indeed, art holding up the mirror. Fascinating.