Wednesday 17 November 2021

Imitation, the sincerest form...

Earlier in the year, I had a bit of a sort out, and cleared out quite a few things I had been holding on to for a long time, usually for reasons lost in time (example finds here and here).

Here's another postcard that was loitering in my stationery drawer:

Bridge in the rain; after Hiroshige

It's Bridge in the rain; after Hiroshige by Vincent van Gogh, painted by him in Paris at the tail-end of 1887. You can click the above to enlarge it for a closer view, and you should, because it's wonderful. I bought the postcard from the excellent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, in 2017.

So, about that "after Hiroshige"... well, here's Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake by Utagawa Hiroshige, painted in Japan exactly 30 years earlier, and currently residing in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art:

Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake

So although they were thirty years apart and on opposite sides of the world, van Gogh was sufficiently influenced by Hiroshige's work to have a go at his own interpretation. No mean feat in the 19th Century, pre-Internet, pre-television, pre-long-haul-flights. How did it come to his attention, I wondered? Turns out that like many European artists in the closing decades of the 1800s, van Gogh was inspired by the ukiyo-e woodblock prints which began to flood the West after Japan opened its harbours to foreign merchant ships in 1854. "I envy the Japanese for the enormous clarity that pervades their work," Vincent wrote to his brother Theo in 1888. "They draw a figure with a few well-chosen lines as if it were as effortless as buttoning up one's waistcoat."

Of course, you can follow the chain of influence further back. Here's Sea at Satta, Suruga Province painted by Hiroshige in 1858.

Sea at Satta, Suruga Province

And here's The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, in 1831.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa

There's nothing new under the sun, is there?

Of all these wonderful paintings, it's van Gogh's dark homage that appeals most to my current state of mind. So here's a rain-themed tune to round things off, from an up-and-coming beat combo who look like they could go far.

4 comments:

  1. Really interesting to compare the two like that - You've added to my knowledge of art. Added to my knowledge of Beatles songs too - A new one for me.

    I was in my loft this afternoon and am overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that needs sorted and cleared. I have kept way too much memorabilia I fear but you've inspired me to maybe share some of it - Am idea for a new series perhaps.

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    1. I look forward to your new series, Alyson!

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  2. Four fab pieces of art (see what I did there?)
    Thanks for the education too - didn't know anything about Van Gogh's interest in Hiroshige but it's a beautiful interpretation.

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