Willow Island (Yanagishima), Number 32 from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei) Possibly 1857

Editor: This is Utagawa Hiroshige's "Willow Island," from his series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo." It's a print on paper, and it feels very tranquil, with all those blues and greens. What do you see in its composition? Curator: The composition is intriguing. The work is bisected horizontally, with a lower section full of human activity and dense vegetation versus an upper section depicting an open, almost ethereal landscape. Notice how the river acts as a compositional spine, vertically. Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't noticed the contrast between the active lower half and the more passive upper half so distinctly. Curator: Observe the perspective as well. It's not quite Western, is it? The flattening effect emphasizes the surface and pattern. Hiroshige masterfully juxtaposes the near and far. Editor: Now I see it. Thank you for pointing that out. It's been very informative to look closer at how it is structured.