Arashiyama in Snow

Object Details

• Artist

  Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858)

• School/Tradition

  Ukiyo-e

• Label

  Appreciated for its seasonal beauty, the steep, wooded slope of Arashiyama at the Oi River has long been a favorite scenic place in Kyoto. The beauty of blossoming cherry trees in spring and red maples in autumn were appreciated by Kyoto residents who made excursions to Arashiyama in fine weather. Here the artist Hiroshige has represented the mountain in winter. The subtlety of his painting is enhanced by his use of an East Asian painting technique that leaves the light-colored silk unpainted to represent white snow. Hiroshige is best known for his landscape prints of famous places in Edo and along the Tokaido, the great road between Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto.

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in Japan in 1903 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note, Object file.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Real and Imagined Places in Japanese Art (March 4 to October 21, 2001)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to August 1, 1994)

  Japanese Art (November 7, 1986 to July 19, 1988)

  Japanese Prints (December 1, 1978 to April 12, 1979)

  Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1850s, 1680s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Matsuki, Bunkio

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Landscapes, Art, Winter, Snow, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ukiyo-e, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings