Nihonbashi 1906

This print, Nihonbashi, was made by Utagawa Hiroshige, sometime before 1858. You can see the process in the thin washes of color, layering up to make a complex image. It’s really like a dance, a back and forth between intention and accident. There’s something about the way Hiroshige uses color here. The blues in the sky and the muted tones of the buildings create a sense of depth and atmosphere. And look at the figures on the bridge and in the foreground; they’re not just shapes, they’re full of life and movement. Notice the way the artist uses line to define the figures and objects in the scene, it's so precise, yet fluid. Hiroshige reminds me a little of James McNeill Whistler, particularly the way both artists capture the mood and atmosphere of a scene with so few elements. But with Hiroshige, there’s also this sense of everyday life, of people going about their business, that’s really special. Art isn’t about answers, it’s about the questions we ask.