Totsuka 1906

This color woodblock print, ‘Totsuka,’ was made by Utagawa Hiroshige, sometime during his lifetime, with ink and color on paper. Look at the way Hiroshige divides the space with these graphic, almost architectural lines, then softens it all with a muted color palette. It's like he’s inviting us into a dream. I wonder what it was like for him, carefully carving each line into the wood, inking the block, and pressing it onto the paper. There’s such a methodical patience to the process. The figures are so interesting - the way they are captured, so flat and graphic, yet so full of life. Did Hiroshige observe people as they passed through Totsuka? It makes me think about how artists, even across centuries, are in constant conversation, borrowing and building upon each other's ideas. It’s inspiring.