Utagawa Hiroshige , the printmaker, blog for printmaking

    Printmaking is such an unfamiliar form of art, both for myself and a lot of new artists. I feel lucky i get to take a printmaking class this semester. In order to explore the art i want to explore the history of the subject. I am going to start with one of the oldest known famous print artists Utagawa Hiroshige, said to be last master in his trade, printed this very familiar painting in witch most of us are familiar with, called  Great Wave

                                           

Artist	[show]Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) (1760–1849)
Title	Japanese: 『神奈川沖浪裏』 - Kanagawa oki nami ura The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Literally: "Under a Wave off Kanagawa")
Description	Part of the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, no. 21.
Date	First publication: between 1826 and 1833. This edition: later.
Medium	color woodblock print
Current location	[show]Library of Congress
Inscriptions	Title top left: 「冨嶽三十六景 神奈川沖浪裏」 [Fugaku Sanjūrokkei - Kanagawa oki nami ura, "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji - The Great Wave off Kanagawa"] Signature top left: 「北斎改爲一筆」 [Hokusai aratame Iitsu hitsu, "by Iitsu, formerly known as Hokusai"]
Source/Photographer	Restored version of File:Great Wave off Kanagawa.jpg (rotated and cropped, dirt, stains, and smudges removed. Creases corrected. Histogram adjusted and color balanced.)

 This wood block print was considered to be a work of art produced by the last Japanese master of the tradition. However i believe he opened up the doors to many other artists. Who i will discus  later in different blog posts. Utagawa Hiroshimo is not only a master but a true pioneer in printmaking, you can view more of his work at http://www.ranker.com/list/utagawa-hiroshige-art-and-work-by-this-artist/reference
Thank You,
Justin Dezonia