Sudden shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake Poster

Sudden shower over Shin-Ōhashi bridge and Atake, 1857. Japanese Woodblock art print by Utagawa Hiroshige (Andō Hiroshige) 1797-1858. This print is considered the masterpiece of this series and compares in its appeal with another of Hiroshige's most famous landscapes, Shono, in "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido," which also depicts escape from a sudden rain. This print, along with the view of the Kameido plum tree (print 30 from the series), were copied in oil by Vincent van Gogh. The rolling black clouds, the torrents of rain -- depicted through an overlay of black and grey lines at different angles -- and the blue-grey of the Sumida River show the intensity of the summer storm. There are six figures on the bridge, attempting to escape from the rain, under hats, mats, and umbrellas and a lone boatman on the river. Looking beyond the Shin-Ohashi, or New Great Bridge, is the Atake of the title, an informal place name for the area shown on the far bank, named after a huge bakufu ship which was moored in front of the shogunal boathouses here from the 1630's until it was dismantled in 1682. Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重, 1797 – October 12, 1858) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, and one of the last great artists in that tradition. He was also referred to as Andō Hiroshige (安藤広重) (an irregular combination of family name and art name) and by the art name of Ichiyūsai Hiroshige (一幽斎廣重).